


His Immortal

by Lone_Wolf_Fanfics



Series: Supernatural/The Vampire Diaries [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Immortality, Jealous Dean Winchester, Jealousy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Lucifer, Prophecy, Protective Dean Winchester, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2020-01-31 05:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 28,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18584704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lone_Wolf_Fanfics/pseuds/Lone_Wolf_Fanfics
Summary: 'She, the one made up of three, shall walk a lonesome path until He, Morning Star, will rise to take her as his bride and Queen. When the time comes that brothers clash, She will be there to turn the tide for The Deceiver and mark the dawn of evil, the fall of man and the rise of a cursed age...."She is destined for Lucifer, but Dean Winchester is inexplicitly drawn to her, Sappheire the world's first Tribird. An Immortal.





	1. Sappheire

**Real name:**  Sappheire

**Alias(s):**

Sapphire Smith

Sophie Smith

Merga Bien

Maret Jonsdotter

**Titles(s):**

The World's First Immortal Being/Woman

The World's First Tribrid

The Oldest Known Salvatore

Nyx

**Nicknames(s):**

Serafina/Seraphina

Sapphira/Safira/Saffira

Sera

Saphy/Saffy

Zafira

Sari

Witchy

Abomination

Witch Bitch

The White Witch

Sabrina

Evanora

Merlin

Grandmother Witch

Wicked Witch of the West

Destroyer of Dreams

The First Tribrid

The First Hybrid

She-devil

Phi Phi (feefee)

Scarlet Witch

 

 **Born:**  1st Century B.C.E. (Greece; Age Unknown/2000+)

 **Turned:**  1st Century B.C.E (Through The Immortality Spell)

 

 **Species:**  Immortal (Tribrid – Witch. Vampire. Werewolf)

 

**Family/Relationships:**

Aegus (Twin Brother) - Status unknown

Silas (Younger Brother)

Qetsiyah (Closest friend)

Amara (Friend)

Unnamed Biological Father †

Unnamed Step-father †

Unnamed Mother †

Unnamed Siblings †

Unnamed Nephews And/Or Nieces †

Unnamed Doppelgängers of Silas † (Distant Descendants)

Unnamed Doppelgängers of Sappheire † (Distant Descendants)

Giuseppe's Family and Relatives † (Distant Descendants)

Giuseppe Salvatore † (Distant Descendant/Great Nephew)

Lillian Salvatore † (Distant Descendant-In-Law)

Damon Salvatore (Distant Descendant/Great Nephew)

Stefan Salvatore † (Distant Descendant/Great Nephew, Assumed to be 3rd Doppelgänger/Last Living Doppelgänger of Silas)

Zachariah Salvatore's Father † (Distant Descendant)

Stefan Salvatore's Unborn Child † (Distant Descendant)

Zachariah Salvatore † (Distant Descendant)

Joseph Salvatore † (Distant Descendant)

Joseph Salvatore's Son † (Distant Descendant)

Zach Salvatore † (Distant Descendant)

Tom Avery † (Distant Descendant, Assumed to be 4th Doppelgänger/Final Doppelgänger of Silas)

Sarah Salvatore † (Distant Descendant)

**Wanda Maximoff (Distant Descendant/Doppelganger)**

**Pietro Maximoff (Distant Descendant/Doppelganger of Aegus)  
**

 

** Physical appearance **

**Height:** 5'3" (Feet)

 **Hair color:**  Dark Brown

 **Eye color:**  Blue

 **Played by:**  Elizabeth Olsen

_"Uh, please, I came first. Vampires are nothing more than a disgusting perversion of me. I'm unkillable, I'm immortal, and I'm psychic, and, yeah to function, I need human blood but don't ever call me a vampire." - Silas_

SAPPHEIRE: Original Greek form of biblical Sapphira, derived from the word sappheiros, meaning "lapis lazuli; sapphire.", also known as the world's first immortal tribrid being or the world's first immortal woman. Sappheire became one of the world's first immortal beings along with her younger half-brother, Silas, and his true love and soulmate, Amara, the oldest known ancestor of the Petrova family or bloodline.

 

** Powers: **

As a witch, Sappheire was powerful enough that Qetsiyah considered them to be the two most powerful members of the Travelers 2,000 years ago.

Sappheire is one of two known werewolf-witch-vampire tribrids, and the first hybrid of all three supernatural species, the full extent, and limits of Sappheire's powers are currently unknown.

Immortals possess supernatural physical and psychic abilities. Although they are the first vampiric lifeforms to exist, their physical abilities e.g. their strength and speed, etc. pale in comparison to that of vampires created from Esther's ritual, and do not increase over time. Their psychic powers, however, are far more superior and the strongest seen thus far, having grown stronger with human blood and by simply honing them with intensive practice over time.

 **Immortality:**  Immortals possess an infinite life span and are thus, immune to aging, all known diseases and illnesses and death by any conventional means. Unlike all other known semi-immortal beings like Vampires and Original Vampires, immortals are truly and unconditionally immortal and can't be killed by any means.

 **Advanced Healing Factor:**  Immortals are able to regenerate from any damage sustained on their bodies as a result of their unconditional immortality. Their bones snap back into place after being broken, and they have been seen to fully recover from gunshots, stab wounds, snapped necks, and torso impalement.

 **Advanced Immunity:**  Immortals possess a caliber of immortality that grants them immunity to all weaknesses. They're immune to wooden weapons, sunlight, vervain, werewolf bites, decapitation, heart extraction or fire and are able to walk freely into a home without being invited by the owner first. Their bodies are completely indestructible.

 **Psychic Powers:**  Immortals possess various advanced psychic abilities which they can develop to affect any species such as humans, witches, Original vampires, vampires, werewolves and hybrids, even at vast distances. In fact, immortals are the only known species who have abilities powerful enough to incapacitate or compel Original vampires. After intensive practice and consumption of exceptional amounts of blood, immortals can even affect multiple targets with their psychic abilities. Silas was once able to mind-control an entire crowd full of people and make them forget afterward. This ability seems to grow stronger with age, practice, and significant consumption of blood. Only Supernatural Hunters of The Brotherhood of the Five and those beings possessed by Travelers using Passenger spells are immune to these abilities.

 **Telepathy:**  Immortals have the ability to enter into the minds of another to read their thoughts and access their memories just by being in the same vicinity as them.

 **Illusions:**  Immortals have the power to create powerful illusions. They are able to use these illusions on anyone they desire, no matter how powerful. The ability to cause illusions also allows a form of shapeshifting, since they can cause beings to believe that they are seeing the Immortal in the form of another. They can be used on multiple people in multiple locations simultaneously. They can keep themselves at a physically safe distance while casting illusions. The illusions have been proven sufficient against many vampires capable of brute force.

 **Voice Mimicry:**  When they use their illusions to appear as someone else, immortals are able to change their voice to whatever they want, using their voice in addition to their appearance to trick their victims into believing that they are truly who they are pretending to be.

 **Psychic Pain Infliction:**  Similar to witches with their pain infliction spells, immortals are able to inflict illusory psychic pain on their victims.

 **Dream Manipulation:**  Immortals can control dreams and the subconscious mind. Immortals can produce and modify dreams and bestow nightmares or lucid dreaming.

 **Advanced Mind Compulsion:**  Immortals can control thoughts, plague dreams, and erase memories of humans and supernatural creatures alike. They do not need eye contact and can effect extremely powerful supernatural beings such as Qetsiyah and Klaus. Unlike vampires, vervain does not prevent an immortal from invading a victims mind. They are even able to control entire crowds from a distance with relative ease after feeding on a large enough quantity of blood. Immortals are the only known beings who can compel an Original vampire or hybrid.

 **Enhanced Strength:**  Immortals have greater than average strength that makes them stronger than most humans, enhancing their strength to more or less similar levels as that of Supernatural Hunters of the Brotherhood of the Five. Silas was able to effortlessly break Jeremy Gilbert's neck with one hand, even after having just awoken from desiccation moments before. so their strength can vary on how much blood is in their system. However, their strength is inferior to that of regular vampires.

 **Enhanced Speed:**  Immortals possess enhanced speed which allows them to move faster than humans. However, like with their strength, immortal possess inferior speed to that of vampires.

 **Enhanced Reflexes:**  Immortals possess enhanced reflexes which allow them to unconsciously react faster than humans to stimulus.

 **Super Durability:**  Immortals are indestructible, they are highly resistant to pain and can take a great amount of damage without succumbing to physical injury.

 **Enhanced Senses** : Immortals have a keen sense of hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch, and perception that exceed those of humans although, the degree of which is still unknown.

 **Werewolf Gene** : Being part werewolf, Sappheire's body contains the triggered werewolf gene that provides her with higher enhanced senses (hearing, sight, and smell), aggression, violence, and anger than the other Immortals.

**Psionics:**  Sappheire's preferred field of witchcraft is psionics, which manifests in the form of reddish, glowing energy currents and mist-like shapes.

**Psionic Force-Field Generation:**  Sappheire is able to create a highly durable barrier of energy that she can shape and deform as she needs to. THIS CAN BLOCK ANGEL AND DEMON ATTACKS.

**Trivia**

Sappheire is the oldest known ancestor of the Salvatore family bloodline followed by her younger brother Silas.

Silas and Sappheire are distant ancestors of all of the Salvatore men, including Giuseppe, Zachariah, Joseph, Stefan, Damon, and Zach.

According to Rebekah, Sappheire is a fairy tale character to scare children if they do not want to obey their parents. This refers to the Boogeyman, an ancient evil being, which has no specific physical form and often causes great terror among children. Sometimes, Boogeyman can be classified as a serial killer, or the devil itself.

 

**Prophecy:**

_'She, the one made up of three, shall walk a lonesome path until He, Morning Star, will rise to take her as his bride and Queen. When the time comes that brothers clash, She will be there to turn the tide for The Deceiver and mark the dawn of evil, the fall of man and the rise of a cursed age...."_

 

 

 **Pairing:** Dean Winchester (Slight one-sidedLucifer)

 

 


	2. Prologue

In Salem, in a Victorian style home, Sappheire, a two-thousand-year-old witch-vampire-werewolf tribrid sleeps fitfully, tossing and turning as she is plagued by a nightmare, she whimpers and rolls over as it takes hold, red mist seeping from her hands.

………………

_St. Mary's Convent. Ilchester, Maryland, 1972. Through the dark and silent corridors of the convent, an unseen presence creeps along. A lone priest is extinguishing candles in the sanctuary. The presence rushes towards him: It is demon smoke. It pours into his mouth, possessing him. He screams._

_………………._

_The priest is standing at the altar, giving mass; seated in the pews behind him are eight nuns._

_“Our Father, who art in... heaven. Thy kingdom come, blah, blah, blah. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us... from evil” he turns and walks down the aisle during the following. “Truer words never spoken, sisters. But sometimes it seems as if it's difficult to know the Creator. Sometimes I feel, in a very literal sense, that I have been wandering the desert for years. Looking for our Father.” he has reached the door and bolts it, then turns back. “Well, not our Father, my Father. See, he's in jail. Your dad put him there” the nuns begin to look nervous. “I almost gave up hope. But, ye of little faith, because I finally found him -- or at least, you know, a spot where his cage door opens. It's right here. In a damn convent, for God's sake. Life is funny”_

_“Um, Father?”_

_“Shut your friggin' piehole, you little slut!” he grins. “Then again, I suppose it makes sense. Folks forget my Daddy is an angel, after all. Or was. I mean, I suppose some dumb bastard stood here, felt a jolt of his holy juice and thought, I'm gonna build me a nun factory. You know? It's the right idea. Wrong angel” He blinks, and his eyes turn the familiar swirling yellow of Azazel. He draws a large knife. “So, uh, if any of you guys are the praying type, now would be a good time to start” There are sounds of the terrified dying screams of the nuns, and focuses on an angel statue lit from behind._

………………

Sappheire groans and shifts in her sleep.

“No” She whimpers.

………………

_Sam Winchester enters the same sanctuary Thirty-Seven years later and flings out a hand. Lilith, the first demon is flung across the room, slamming into the altar and falling to the ground. Sam, with Ruby, his demonic sidekick, behind him, advances on Lilith and flings out his hand again. Lilith is forced back against the altar. Dean Winchester, Sam’s older brother, comes around a corner and sees what is happening in the sanctuary. Ruby looks back at Dean and smiles. She puts out a hand and the doors to the sanctuary close. Sam walks towards Lilith. We can hear a loud, gradually quickening heartbeat._

_“I've been waiting for this... for a very long time”_

_“Then give me your best shot” Sam reaches out a hand, throwing his power at her. White light shines on Lilith and she cries out in pain. Sam lowers his hand, the light fades and the heartbeat slows._

_“Sam!” Dean shouts from the other side of the door. Sam turns to look at the door. “Sam!” Dean bangs on the door. “Sam!”_

………….

Sappheire clenches her fist in her sleep as all she can hear is the sound of a heartbeat, it takes over almost all other sounds.

……………

_Dean's voice and pounding are distant and faint, but Sam turns in confusion anyway._

_“Dean?”_

_“What are you waiting for?! Now! Sam, now!” Ruby shouts, Lilith laughs._

_“You turned yourself into a freak. A monster. And now you're not gonna bite? I'm sorry, but that is honestly adorable” The heartbeat quickens; Sam faces Lilith and raises his hand again. His eyes turn black as he concentrates his power and hurls it at Lilith. She convulses several times, her body glowing and flickering. At last, she goes limp. Sam's eyes turn back to normal. The sound of the heartbeat slows._

…………….

Sappheire tosses in bed again.

“No” she whimpers.

…………….

_Blood is pouring out of Lilith's body in a steady stream; the stream is flowing in what looks like a very deliberate direction._

_“What the hell?” Sam asks._

_“I can’t believe it”_

_“Ruby, what’s going on?”_

_“You did it. I mean, it was a little touch-and-go there for a while, but... you did it”_

_“What? What -- what did I do?”_

_“You opened the door. And now he's free at last. He's free at last!”_

_“No, no, no. No, he -- Lilith -- I stopped her. I killed her!”_

_“And it is written that the first demon shall be the last seal. And you bust her open” Sam puts his hands to his head. “Now guess who's coming to dinner”_

_“Oh, my god”_

_“Guess again” Dean pounds at the door with a large candelabra. “You don't even know how hard this was! All the demons out for my head. No one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alastair knew! Only Lilith! Yeah, I'm sure you're a little angry right now, but, I mean, come on, Sam! Even you have to admit -- I'm -- I'm awesome!”_

_“You bitch. You lying bitch!” He thrusts his hands at her, trying to use his powers, but he drops, clutching his head instead._

_“Don't hurt yourself, Sammy. It's useless. You shot your payload on the boss”_

_“The blood... You poisoned me” Ruby kneels in front of him._

_“No. It wasn't the blood. It was you... and your choices. I just gave you the options, and you chose the right path every time. You didn't need the feather to fly, you had it in you the whole time, Dumbo! I know it's hard to see it now... but this is a miracle. So long coming. Everything Azazel did and Lilith did. Just to get you here. And you were the only one who could do it”_

_“Why? W-why me?”_

_“Because... because it had to be you, Sammy. It always had to be you. You saved us. You set him free. And he's gonna be grateful. He's gonna repay you in ways that you can't even imagine” Dean is still pounding on the door, a red mist starts to wrap around it, Dean watches it move across the door towards the lock._

……………

Sappheire clenches her hand and throws it out releasing her fingers.

……………

_The door flies open and the red mist disappears, Dean draws a knife and heads into the room. Ruby stands to confront him._

_“You're too late,” she tells him._

_“I don't care” Dean advances on Ruby. Sam stands and grabs her from behind, holding her in place as Dean stabs her. She flickers with light, then crumples to the floor, dead._

_“I'm sorry,” Sam tells Dean, the blood pouring out of Lilith has finished its pattern on the floor. A brilliant white light shoots up from the central point of the pattern and the convent begins to tremble._

_“Sammy, let's go” Sam clutches at Dean's shirt as Dean grabs Sam’s jacket, and staring at the light._

_“Dean... he's coming”_

…………….

Sappheire wakes with a scream, bone-chilling and blood curdling, all the glass in her bedroom shatters, windows, mirrors, lightbulbs, glass explodes in all directions, her hair wild and untamed, her eyes glowing bright red and her breathing labored.

“No” she whispers and then scrambles out of bed.

 


	3. Chapter One

Sappheire draws a pentagram on her library floor and sets candles in place before setting a round concave mirror on the floor in the center, she stands and grabs a jug of Holy water from the side and pours it into the mirror which ripples, she sets the jug aside again and slips off her kimono and kneels in front of the mirror, she waves her hand over the water.

“Ostende illum mihi quem quaero" she dips one finger into the water and it ripples. “Vitto Brosche Tarem Car Manifesto Fen” the water changes shape, shifting, swirling, revealing an image. A glowing bluish white light rippling across the sky, Sappheire sighs a breath of relief and leans back. She closes her eyes and brushes her fingers through her hair. Breath ghosts over her neck and she freezes, stiffening.

“I’m coming for you, love” she snaps around finding nothing behind her, unfortunately, she also spills the contense of the mirror all over her floor, washing away the pentagram. Sappheire scrambles to her feet and hurries out the room.

…………………

Sappheire throws a bag on her bed and turns to her wardrobe, throws open the door and grabs a handful of clothing and shoves them into the bag on the bed, she raises her hand at the radio on her bedside table and it turns on.

“And Governor O'Malley urged calm saying it's very unlikely an abandoned convent would be a target for terrorists, either foreign or homegrown” Sappheire rolls her eyes and waves her wrist, the station changes as she continues to pack her bag.

“Hurricane Kinley, unexpectedly slamming into the Galveston area…” the station keeps changing.

“Announced a successful test of the North Korean nuclear….”

“A series of tremors….”

“Swine flu….” Sappheire scoffs and rolls her wrist, the radio turns off, she zips up her full bag and sets it by the door.

…………………..

Sam and Dean walk through the devastated house of Chuck Shirley. A noise and they both turn: nothing. They keep looking around. Chuck jumps out and hits Sam on the head with a toilet plunger. Sam stumbles back, hand to his head.

“Geez! Ow!”

“Sam?”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, Chuck” Dean greets.

“So...you're okay?”

“Well, my head hurts”

“No, I mean—I mean, my—My last vision. You went, like, full-on Vader. Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black” Dean looks to Sam.

“Your eyes went black?” he asks. Sam looks back over his shoulder.

“I didn't know”

“Where's Cas?”

“He's dead. Or gone. The archangel smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry”

“You're sure? I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something”

“Oh, no. He, like, exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup” Sam takes a closer look at Chuck and waves a hand at his own left ear.

“You got a…” Chuck waves a hand at his own right ear.

“Uh...right here?” Sam indicates the other side of Chuck's head.

“Uh, the...” Chuck feels at his hair.

“Oh. Oh, god” Chuck pulls something out. “Is that a molar?” It is. “Do I have a molar in my hair? This has been a really stressful day”

“Cas, you stupid bastard” Dean states.

“Stupid? He was trying to help us” Sam corrects.

“Yeah, exactly”

“So, what now?”

“I don't know”

“Oh, crap”

“What?” Sam asks Chuck.

“I can feel them” Chuck answers.

“Thought we'd find you here” Sam and Dean turn around: Zachariah is there, two angels accompanying him. “Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us” Dean points at Zachariah.

“You just keep your distance, asshat”

“You're upset”

“Yeah. A little. You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!”

“Maybe we let it happen. We didn't start anything. Right, Sammy?” Zachariah winks. “You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again”

“Is that so?”

“You want to kill the devil. We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy”

“And I'm just supposed to trust you?” Dean asks. “Cram it with walnuts, ugly”

“This isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast—before he finds his vessel”

“His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?”

“He is an angel. Them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies, the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help”

“You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!”

“You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?” Blood drips from Dean's hand. “You're bleeding”

“Oh, yeah—a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up” Dean slaps his bloody hand on an Angel Banishing Sigil drawn behind a door.

“No!” Sam and Chuck flinch. Zachariah vanishes in white light. When Dean looks, the other angels are gone as well.

“Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch”

“This sucks ass”

……………….

Sappheire sets her bags into the trunk of her car which is already packed with books, a bag of potions and ingredients and her two mirrors, including the one she used earlier. She closes the trunk and leans on it before nodding and looking to her house, she loves this house, and though she’s packed what she can….the house contains some beloved items. Nothing needed or important but….beloved all the same. She holds up her hand at the house, curls her wrist and pulls her hand back, the house catches fire. She walks around the driver’s side and climbs into her car before driving away.

 

 


	4. Chapter Two

Sappheire hates motels, she loathes them, the stains, the sticky patches, the moldy wallpaper. Sappheire flicks a brown something or other off the table she’s sat at. The questionable lumps of stuff just sticking on things.

“This is….filthy” she complains, she would go high class, five stars, clean sheets, efficient house cleaning, but that’s what she would do, and everyone who knows her knows that. She pours herself a glass of scotch and sets the bottle aside, before setting five candles on the table and runs her hand around them in a circle, a salt line follows, she closes her eyes and holds her hands up, pulling her fingers to her palm. “Phasmatos Salves Nas Ex Malon, Terra Mora Vantis Quo Incandis, Et Vasa Quo Ero Signos” An invisible boundary line appears behind the door and across all the windows. The candles blow out and she relaxes significantly and stands with her drink. “Let’s see you get through that” she states mockingly at…thin air. She rolls her eyes at herself, sits on the edge of the bed and turns on the tv.

“How would you then explain an earthquake, a hurricane, and multiple tornadoes, all at the same time, all around the globe?” Sappheire raises an eyebrow.   
“Two words. Carbon emissions”

“Yeah, right, wavy gravy” Sappheire mocks.

……………….

Sam is reading his father’ John’s journal whilst Dean watches TV. There is a knock at the door. Dean pulls his gun. Sam answers. It's Becky Rosen, so excited she's having trouble breathing.

“You okay, lady?” Sam asks.   
“Sam...is it really you?” Sam glances back at Dean. Becky steps closer and puts a hand on Sam's chest. “And you're so firm”

“Uh, do I know you?” Becky pulls back. Sam continues to stare, bewildered.

“No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're…” Becky looks at Dean, who's staring at her, his gun hand out of sight. “Not what I pictured. I'm Becky” Becky pushes past Sam into the room. “I read all about you guys. And I've even written a few…” Becky glances down, giggling a little. “Anyway, Mr. Edlund told me where you were” Dean stands up.

“Chuck?” Sam closes the door.

“He's got a message, but he's being watched. Angels. Nice change-up to the mythology, by the way. The demon stuff was getting kind of old”

“Right. Just, um...what's the message?”

“He had a vision. "The Michael sword is on earth. The angels lost it."”

“The Michael sword?”

“Becky, does he know where it is?”

“In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs”

“Forty-two dogs?”

“Are...you sure you got that right?”

“It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said” Becky steps closer to Sam. “Also…He said to look for the Bride….I memorized every word” Becky touches Sam's chest. “For you” Sam glances over at Dean and down at Becky: awkward.

“Um, Becky, c—uh, can you...quit touching me?”

“No”

“Hey!” Dean snaps. “Focus…who’s Bride?” he asks.

“He didn’t say” Becky answers.

“Where do we find her?” Sam asks. Becky strokes his chest.

“Didn’t say” Dean scoffs.

“Helpful”

……………………….

Sappheire sits back at the table where her spell paraphernalia is, the candles still burning. She pushes the net over the window aside and peers out, this is what she hates about being on the run and as powerful as she is, she doesn’t enjoy conflict, in fact, she actively avoids it. But she hates being cooped up, her inner wolf howling to get out, scratching at her bones. She sighs and leans back in her seat before standing and moving to a locked square box set on her dresser and runs her hand over the top, an intricate series of inner locks click open and she smiles lifting the lid to reveal a hand mirror inside, she strokes the glass.

“Deíxe mou, aderfí mou” the glass ripples to reveal her fossilized little brother, all alone in his tomb, somewhere even she cannot find, no tracking spell so far has revealed his location to her, and two-thousand years later, she is still searching for him. “I need you, brother” she whispers. “It’s happening….and I need you” the reflection remains unchanged, she nods and scoffs before waving her hand over the glass again and shutting the box. The mirror had been given to her by Qetsiyah, an apology of sorts for locking her brother away from her, Sappheire had no idea that Silas planned on using the immortality spell on anyone but himself and Qetsiyah, instead he chose Amara, his ‘soul mate’. Sappheire never liked her, and she hasn’t liked any of her doppelgangers either. The locks on the box click away and she grabs her jacket and pulls it on. She can’t sit cooped up until the Apocalypse rolls around.

…………………….

Back at Sam and Dean’s motel room, there is a knock on the door. Dean opens it. It's Bobby Singer, loveable rough rogue, father figure, alcoholic and gunslinger.

“Hey, Bobby” Bobby hugs Dean, slapping him on the back.

“Good to see you boys all in one piece” Bobby hugs Sam, who's grinning. Dean closes the door.

“You weren't followed, were you?”

“You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?” Bobby asks. Sam laughs.

“You heard”

“I heard, Romeo. So...sword of Michael, huh?”

“You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?”

“You better friggin' hope so”

…………………………..

Sappheire sits at a bar with a glass of scotch in front of her, her scarf pulled up over her head to hide her face as she drinks. As much as it helps, she’s going to need to feed soon, she’s been putting it off since she left her blazing home behind. She glances to the bartender, green eyes, dirty blonde hair, utterly gorgeous, who is watching her back, she rakes her eyes over him and sniffs, scenting him, she always loves a meal that smells good. She smirks at him and he smiles back, waving a little moving towards her, she leans on the bar.

“Hi, Luke…” he offers her his hand, she smirks and takes it.

“Sophie” she greets with a lie. “When do you get off?” she asks with a flirty smile.

“About an hour….can I refresh your drink whilst you wait?” he smirks at her, she chuckles and pushes her empty glass towards him.

“Thank you, that would be great” he takes the empty glass and walks away, she checks him out and bites her lip.

…………………………….

 

 


	5. Chapter Three

Bobby opens a book to a painting of Michael surrounded by other angels. In this painting, Michael looks like a winged woman and the other angels like naked babies with wings.

“That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got” Sam flips to another painting. Again, Michael has a feminine face.

“You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett” Dean points out.

“Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me. He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. Did it with that sword” Bobby points to the sword in the painted Michael's hand. “So if we can find it...”

“We can kick the devil's ass all over again. All right. So, where do we start?”

“Divvy up and start reading—try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense” Sam gets up and heads for a pile of old books, presumably brought by Bobby. He stares at the books for a long moment, not reaching for them. “Kid? You all right?” Sam turns to face Bobby.

“No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry”

“Sam...” Dean warns.

“Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal”

“Sam, stop it”  
“I killed her, and I set Lucifer free”  
“You what?”

“You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on” Dean says nothing. Bobby stands up and walks closer.

“You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant”

“I'm sorry”

“Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy. If, by some miracle, we pull this off...I want you to lose my number. You understand me?” Sam nods. His expression barely changes: this can't be much different from what he expected. Dean doesn't protest.

“There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there”

“Yeah. You do that” Sam leaves. Bobby turns back to Dean, who stays silent.

……………………

Sappheire pushes Luke against the wall of the alley and kisses his neck, his hands roaming down her waist and around to her ass, she rolls her eyes and nips at his skin, she’s not a vampire vampire per se but she does need blood. She just has a more defined way of doing it. She licks up his neck to his jaw and kisses to his lips. She places her hand on his chest and shoves him against the wall, maybe a little harder than necessary, she lifts her eyes to his.

“I’m going to need you to be very very quiet” she purrs as she compels him. “And still” she adds with a smirk. She steps away from him and moves to where she dropped her bag, crouches and opens it up, pulling out an empty glass bottle stained red with blood. She moves back to Luke and his terrified eyes follow her. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you, I just….” She sighs. “You will be fine and you won’t remember any of this tomorrow…so…” she steps up to him. “I’m a 2,000-year-old immortal witch slash werewolf that needs human blood to survive…and currently I am on the run from the devil himself….normally I would have stashes of donated blood around my home…but that’s gone up in flames…so here I am….and unfortunately you just smelled too delicious to pass up” she holds out a hand and lets her werewolf claws grow. “I need you to hold up your hand” she compels him, he holds up his hand and she pulls his sleeve down and draws a claw along his wrist before holding up the bottle to catch the blood. “For what it’s worth” she looks to him. “I am sorry because you seem really nice…and you’re hot” she tells him as she drains his blood into her bottle. “Like insanely hot”

…………………….

Sam walks along the street towards the church and away from the motel room.

……………………..

Bobby and Dean sit doing research.

“I never would have guessed that your daddy was right”

“About what?”

“About your brother” Dean looks up. “What John said—you save Sam or kill him. Maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him”

“Bobby”

“He ended the world, Dean. And you and I weren't strong enough to stop him proper. That's on us. I'm just saying, your dad was right”

“Dad” Dean rummages through his bag. He pulls out a plastic Ziplock full of cards. “It's got to be in here somewhere”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Here” Dean pulls one out and reads it. Bobby stands up. Dean comes over. “I don't believe it”  
“What the hell is it?”

“It's a card for my dad's lockup in upstate New York. Read it” Bobby takes the card.

“"Castle Storage. 42 Rover Hill."”

“Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs” Dean takes the card back.

“So you think your dad had the Michael sword all this time?”

“I don't know. I'm not sure what else Chuck could have meant”  
“Yeah. Okay. It's good enough for me” Bobby attacks Dean, knocking him through the barrier between the kitchenette and the beds. Bobby yanks Dean up and slams him down again. Bobby's eyes go black.

………………

Sappheire looks to Luke, his eyes watching her.

“I’m not the bad guy here,” she tells him. “I’m a nice person, okay? I’m a good witch….I do fertility spells, healing spells and good luck spells, I do good things….but the devil….you see he wants me to do bad things….he wants me to destroy humanity and I don’t want that” she shakes her head. “I love you, humans….I do, I find your will to survive admirable....” she sighs. “I don’t want to be the one to end you all….” she looks to him softly. “I don’t want to be a bad person”

 


	6. Chapter Four

 

In Pike Creek, Delaware, a man (his name is Nick) walks along the sidewalk to his house. He opens his front gate, which creaks, and lets it swing shut behind him. A wind picks up, swinging the gate forward and back, and Nick turns back to look. The gate bangs open and shut.

…………….

Nick lies in bed, alone and restless. He pulls his hands out from under the blankets: they're bloodstained. He tosses the blankets back and there's blood all over him and the sheets, a lot of it, as though someone bled to death a moment ago. Nick gets out of bed and switches on the bedside light. There's no blood.

“All right, keep it together. Keep it together, man” Nick turns off the light and lies down. He rolls over and there's a woman in bed next to him, blood on her cheek. He sits up, shocked: he knows her—her name is Sarah—and the last thing he expected was to see her.

“It's you, Nick. You're special. You're chosen” Nick shakes his head, disbelieving, and covers his eyes with one hand. When he looks back, Sarah is gone.

……………….

'Bobby' grabs Dean by the throat and drags him to his feet. A F!Demon enters, a M!Demon behind her.

“I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean. But I never dreamed you were so V.I.P” The F!Demon sees Ruby's knife on the table and picks it up. “I mean, you're gonna ice the devil? You? If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago”

“Ruby”

“Try again. Go back further”

“Meg?”

“Hi. These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean. Our father's among us, searching for his beloved. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really owe your brother a fruit basket”

“My god, you like the sound of your own voice”

“But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you” Dean smirks.

“Get in line”

“Oh, I'm in the front of the line, baby. Let's ride” Meg kisses Dean.

“What is that, peanut butter?”

“You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake screaming in there. And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you” Meg hands the knife to 'Bobby', who raises it to Dean's throat. Dean struggles.

“Bobby!” 'Bobby' looks back at Meg.

“Now!” 'Bobby' raises the knife to stab Dean.

“Bobby! No!” The black fades from 'Bobby's eyes. The knife comes down and Bobby flashes gold as the demon 'Bobby' dies: Bobby stabbed himself. Bobby collapses. Dean rushes Meg and the M!Demon. The M!Demon slams Dean into the wall, then the floor. Sam enters and sees Bobby on the floor bleeding and Dean getting beaten.

“No!”

“Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you”

“Meg?” Meg grins. Sam swings and misses. Meg kicks him in the crotch and knocks him to the ground while the M!Demon pounds Dean.

“It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?” The M!Demon kicks Dean. Meg punches Sam. Dean kicks the feet out from under the M!Demon, grabs the knife out of Bobby's stomach and stabs the M!Demon in the chest. Dean stands up. Meg backs away. Dean advances. Meg screams and smokes out of the woman, who collapses. Dean lowers the knife.

………………………

Nick carries a blanket and teddy bears past a freestanding baby rocker to a cardboard box. The rocker starts moving on its own. Nick turns to look, then goes over and stops it. A baby's cry. Nick digs frantically through the box and pulls out a baby monitor. He stares at it, listening to the crying.

……………………….

Sappheire watches the blood fill her bottle and looks up at Luke who wavers slightly on his feet.

“Just a little more,” she tells him. “It’s okay, I meant what I said, I’m not going to kill you”

………………………

Nick opens the door, still listening. He stares at the crib for a moment. The crying goes silent. He turns on the light. Silence. He turns away and the crying begins again. He turns back and sees blood pouring out of the crib onto the carpet.

“No...” Nick goes up to the crib and falls to his knees, sobbing. The crib is empty. It and the carpet are clean.

……………………….

Dean opens the trunk of the Impala. He and Sam load guns and close the trunk. Dean unlocks the storage room, Sam standing watch.

……………………….

Sappheire raises Luke’s wrist and licks over the wound. He gives her a look.

“Don’t give me that look” she tells him. “You eat meat to survive….I drink blood…we’re not that different…well except that I am stronger, faster, smarter, and more powerful than you”

 


	7. Chapter Five

Sam and Dean enter the room, shotguns ready. They find dead demons sprawled across the floor.

“I see you told the demons where the sword is” Dean and Sam turn. Zachariah is there with two angels escorting.

“Oh, thank god. The angels are here”

“And to think...they could have grabbed it any time they wanted” Zachariah waves a hand to close the door. “It was right in front of them”

“What do you mean?” Sam asks.

“We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it happened to be true. We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it. Until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us”

“We don't have anything” Dean states.

“It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael sword” Dean stares. “What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one”

“What do you mean, I'm the sword?”

“You're Michael's weapon. Or, rather, his...receptacle”

“I'm a vessel?”

“You're the vessel. Michael's vessel”

“How? Why—why me?”

“Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. I think I'll pass, thanks”

“Joking. Always joking. Well...no more jokes” Zachariah raises one hand, fingers like a gun, and points at Dean, then shifts to Sam. “Bang” A loud crunch. Sam falls, unable to stand.

“God!”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs. I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?”

“How many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?”

“Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive”

“There's a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me. You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin”

“Unfortunately, yes”

“Well, there's got to be another way”

“There is no other way. There must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent and his wolf. It is written”

“Yeah, maybe. But, on the other hand... Eat me. The answer's no”

“Okay. How about this? Your friend Bobby—we know he's gravely injured. Say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again” Sam glances up at Dean.

“No”

“Then how about we heal you from...stage-four stomach cancer?” Dean doubles over, coughing. He spits into his palm: blood.

“No”

“Then let's get really creative. Uh, let's see how...Sam does without his lungs” Dean turns to look at Sam, who gasps for breath. “Are we having fun yet? You're going to say yes, Dean”

“Just kill us”

“Kill you? Oh, no. I'm just getting started” Bright light flashes. Zachariah turns. One of the angels collapses, a bloody hole in his throat. Castiel stands beside him. The other angel fights Castiel. Dean and Zachariah stare; Sam tries to take a breath. Castiel and the angel slam each other around. Castiel stabs the other angel in the back. Bright light flashes. Zachariah stares. Castiel walks closer. In the background, Sam is still and silent. “How are you...”

“Alive? That's a good question. How did these two end up on that airplane? Another good question. 'Cause the angels didn't do it. I think we both know the answer, don't we?”

“No. That's not possible”

“It scares you. Well, it should. Now, put these boys back together and go. I won't ask twice” Zachariah vanishes. Sam looks up and around, surprised. Dean and Sam stand up. “You two need to be more careful”

“Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought”

“I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is circling his vessel. And once he takes it, those hex bags won't be enough to protect you” Castiel puts one hand on Dean's chest, the other on Sam's. Dean and Sam gasp.

“What the hell was that?”

“An Enochian sigil. It'll hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer”

“What, did you just brand us with it?”

“No. I carved it into your ribs” There is a silent pause.

“Hey, Cas, were you really dead?”

“Yes”

“Then how are you back?” Castiel vanishes. Sam and Dean are alone with the dead.

…………………….

Nick lies in bed in an empty room.

“Nick” Nick sits up. Sarah stands at the foot of the bed. “Nick. You're dreaming, Nick. But it doesn't mean this isn't real”

“Sarah?”

“I'm not your wife, Nick. I'm an angel”

“An angel?”

“My name is Lucifer”

“Sure. Naturally. Um... Could you do me a favor there, Satan, and remind me to quit drinking before I go to bed?”

“I'm here because you're special, Nick. There's very, very few people like you”

“Is that so?”

“You're a vessel—a very powerful vessel” Nick swings his legs off the bed.

“Meaning what, exactly?”

“I need to take control of your mind and your body. To be honest, it'll probably be unpleasant for you. But it is necessary”

“Okay, look...if it's just the same to you, I think I'd like to wake up now”

“I told you—this is real. Don't be afraid. This is your choice” Lucifer sits on the bed next to Nick.

“You need to invite me in”

“Even if this is real—which it's not, but assuming it was...why the hell would I do something like that?”

“You people misunderstand me. You call me "Satan" and "devil", but... Do you know my crime? I loved God too much. And for that, he betrayed me—punished me. Just as he's punished you. After all, how could God stand idly by while that man broke into your home and butchered your family in their beds?” Nick swallows, not looking at her. “There are only two rational answers, Nick—either he's sadistic, or he simply doesn't care. You're angry. You have every right to be angry. I am angry, too. That's why I want to find him—hold him accountable for his actions. Just because he created us doesn't mean he can toy with us, like playthings”

“If I help you...can you bring back my family?”

“I'm sorry. I can't. But I can give you the next best thing. God did this to you, Nick. And I can give you justice. Peace”

“How do I know you're telling the truth?”

“Because, contrary to popular belief, I don't lie. I don't need to. What I need...is you. Nick, I need you to say yes” Nick remembers the empty baby rocker, the blood pouring from the crib, the empty crib.

“Then yes”

………………………..

The high-pitched screech of angel speech. White light flares from all the upper windows of Nick's house.

………………………..

Sappheire gasps as her eyes glow red, pain shooting up her right hand and arm.

“What the hell?!” she complains clutching her arm. Luke clumps against the wall, Sappheire waves her good hand towards him and his wrist heals as she stumbles backward. She falls to her knees and clutches her arm as a deep, dragging, needle-like pain etches itself through her skin. When it stops Sappheire slowly looks to her hand. There etched along her finger, across the back of her hand and up her wrist an intricate black tattoo, she turns her hand over and notes that the rings on her fingers complete around the inside, she turns her hand back around. The half-moon shape design on the outside of her hand moves, like a clock, a snake swirling around the middle. “Oh no,” she whispers. “That’s not good”

 


	8. Chapter Six

Sappheire places her hand on Luke’s shoulder and crouches. She sighs.

“That was unexpected,” she tells him. “And I am sorry for this….” She looks him in the eye. “You will go home and sleep this day off, and when you wake fully rested you will have forgotten everything since you met me….” She runs her hand over his wrist. “Not even a scar” she whispers with a smile. She lets go of his hand and pats his cheek. “Best of luck to you in the coming apocalypse” she stands grabs her jar of blood and her bag before walking away.

…………………

A nurse walks down a hospital corridor past a patient with a mobile IV stand. Both pass a closed door, behind which Bobby is heard yelling.

“"Unlikely to walk again"?! Why, you snot-nosed son of a bitch! Wait till I get out of this bed!” The door bursts open and a Doctor flees. Inside, Bobby sits in a hospital bed and Sam and Dean stand by the window. “I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!” Bobby looks over at Sam and Dean. “You believe that yahoo?”

“Screw him. You'll be fine”

“So, let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?” Sam asks.

“Well... We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, heaven or hell, we're boned” Bobby answers.

“What if we win?” Dean asks. Bobby stares at him. Sam turns to face Dean, who sounds a bit too confident. “I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves”

“And how are we supposed to do all this, genius?”

“I got no idea…But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out”

“You are nine kinds of crazy, boy”

“It's been said” Dean pats Bobby on the shoulder. “Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit” Dean heads for the door. Sam follows.

“Sam?” Sam stops. “I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that...that was the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever.” A long pause. Sam sighs.

“Thanks, Bobby”

“You're welcome. I deserve a damn medal for this, but...you're welcome” Dean and Sam leave.

……………..

Sappheire approaches her motel room and slows, something doesn’t sit right with her, her werewolf senses are tingling and from the smell of sulfur the demons have found her already, she walks to her room and opens the door stepping inside, whilst they can’t get in; it also means that whilst they are out there she can’t leave. She closes the door and leans back against it before holding up her hand to look at the weird tattoo.

“Like my life couldn’t get any more complicated and messed up” she pushes herself off the door and sets her bag on the side before heading to the bathroom.

……………….

An ambulance drives past. Sam and Dean walk out to the cars.

“You know, I was thinking, Dean—maybe we could go after the Colt”

“Why? What difference would that make?”

“Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there…”

“I just said a bunch of crap for Bobby's benefit” Dean stops in the middle of the road. Sam stops, looking at him. “I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight till the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance, and you know that. I mean, hell, you of all people know that” Dean goes around Sam.

“Dean...” Dean stops and turns back. “Is there something you want to say to me?” A long pause.

“I tried, Sammy. I mean, I really tried. But I just can't keep pretending that everything's all right. Because it's not. And it's never going to be. You chose a demon over your own brother…..” Sam rolls his eyes. “And look what happened”

“I would give anything…anything….to take it all back”

“I know you would. And I know how sorry you are. I do. But, man...you were the one that I depended on the most. And you let me down in ways that I can't even...” Dean pauses, struggling for words. “I'm just…I'm having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here. You know?”

“What can I do?”

“Honestly? Nothing” Sam nods a little, looking down: this doesn't surprise him. “I just don't...I don't think that we can ever be what we were. You know?” Sam nods again: this isn't a surprise either. “I just don't think I can trust you” Sam looks up: this he wasn't expecting. Dean shakes his head and walks away, pausing at the trunk of the Impala to look back, then gets into the driver's seat.

…………….

Sappheire shakes out her hair as she steps out of the bathroom. She pauses and listens towards the motel door; a cry of pain reaches her ears and she smirks. Something supernatural is trying to cross her boundary spell, oh she loves those spells. But she can’t stay locked in her room forever. She bites her lip and looks around before sighing.

……………..

Sappheire, now dressed and packed sets her bags by the door and moves to a chair she’s set in the center of the room and lowers herself into it, she looks to the candles still on the table and waves her hand, the candles extinguish and the boundary lifts around the room, she looks to the door as it opens. Three demons step through the fresh hold and Sappheire rolls her eyes, three really, even on a bad day she can take three, tied up she could take three. That’s when four more step in behind them. Better.

“Let me guess” she starts. “Pro-devil” she pushes herself out of the chair. “Figured his minions would find me first” she looks to each of them before rolling her wrist. “Who wants to try first?”

………………

Outside the Motel, there are screams of pain and the window of Sappheire’s room splatters with blood.

……………….

Mere minutes later Sappheire looks down at the seven bodies littered around the room. One wheezes and flickers orange, the demon struggling to hold onto its vessel, Sappheire moves to him and hauls him up by the shirt, presses him against the wall as her eyes turn yellow.

“I’m going to heal you,” she tells him. “And you go back to your father and give him a message” she presses her hand to the side of his face, the cuts, slashes and internal injuries heal. “Tell him; I decide my own fate, that I will not bend to prophesy millions of years out of date, and I will not be a breeding mare for a serpent, nor will I be the harbinger of the end” she tells him and then drops him before turning, grabbing her bags and leaving.

…………………

Sappheire’s car passes a Welcome to River Pass, Colorado sign.

…………………

Bobby, wearing a bathrobe and ball cap, sits in a wheelchair and stares out the window. Sam watches him from the doorway. Dean arrives with a manila envelope in hand.

“It's been like three days now?” Dean states. Sam sighs. “We got to cheer him up. Maybe I'll give him a backrub”

“Dean”

“Well, what, then?”

“Look...we might have to wrap our heads around the idea that Bobby might not just bounce back this time” A pause. Sam looks at the envelope, which says "X-RAY". “What's in the envelope?”

“Went to radiology” Dean opens the envelope and pulls out the contents. “Got some glamour shots” Dean hands Sam the contents of the envelope, a chest X-ray with strange writing on the ribs. “Let's just say the doctors are baffled” Sam examines the writing, which is in Enochian.

“Holy crap”

“Yeah, well, Cas carved you one, too” Sam's phone rings. He answers.

“Hello? ...Castiel?”

“Speak of the devil”

“Ah, St. Martin's Hospital. Why? What are you—Cas?” Sam hangs up. A woman in scrubs and a man in a white lab coat rush past with a piece of equipment on a cart.

“Dr. Cohen to the ER, stat. Dr. Cohen to the ER, stat” Castiel walks past them and other passersby and stops at Dean and Sam.

“Cell phone, Cas? Really? Since when do angels need to reach out and touch someone?” Dean asks.

“You're hidden from angels now—all angels. I won't be able to simply…”

“Enough foreplay” Bobby snaps, Dean, Sam, and Castiel look over at him. “Get over here and lay your damn hands on” No one moves. Bobby looks over his shoulder. “Get healing. Now”

“I can't” Bobby turns his chair to face Castiel.

“Say again?” Castiel walks up to Bobby.

“I'm cut off from heaven and much of heaven's power. Certain things I can do. Certain things I can't”

“You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap the rest of my life?”

“I'm sorry”

“Shove it up your ass” Bobby turns back to the window. Dean turns to Sam.

“At least he's talking now” 

“I heard that” Castiel comes back to Dean and Sam.

“I don't have much time. We need to talk”

“Okay”

“Your plan to kill Lucifer”

“Yeah. You want to help?”

“No. It's foolish. It can't be done”

“Oh. Thanks for the support”

“But I believe I have the solution. There may be someone besides Michael strong enough to take on Lucifer. Strong enough to stop the apocalypse”

“Who's that?”

“One; The one who resurrected me and put you on that airplane. The one who began everything. God. And The Bride or The Wolf or The Destroyer of Dreams, depending on which angel you ask, she’ll be harder to find…So” Sam and Dean look skeptical. “I'm gonna find God” Dean closes the hospital room door and turns back to Castiel.

“God?”

“Yes”

“God”

“Yes! He isn't in heaven. He has to be somewhere”

“Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla”

“No, he's not on any flatbread”

“Listen, Chuckles, even if there is a God, he is either dead—and that's the generous theory…”

“He is out there, Dean”

“…Or he's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat's ass about any of us” Castiel glares. “I mean, look around you, man. The world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here, and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut. All right?”

“Enough. This is not a theological issue. It's strategic. With God's help, we can win”

“It's a pipe dream, Cas” Castiel advances on Dean.

“I killed two angels this week. My brothers. I'm hunted. I rebelled. And I did it, all of it, for you, and you failed. You and your brother destroyed the world” Sam looks down. “And I lost everything, for nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself”

“You didn't drop in just to tear us a new hole. What is it you want?”

“I did come for something. An amulet”

“An amulet? What kind?”

“Very rare. Very powerful. It burns hot in God's presence. It'll help me find him”

“A God EMF?” Sam asks. Castiel nods.

“Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I got nothing like that”

“I know. You don't” Castiel looks at Dean, then drops his gaze to Dean's amulet, and back up.

“What, this?”

“May I borrow it?”

“No”

“Dean. Give it to me” Dean is silent, realizing Castiel is serious, then thinking it over. He takes off the amulet.

“All right, I guess” Dean holds it out, then pulls back when Castiel reaches for it. “Don't lose it” Castiel takes it. “Great. Now I feel naked” “I'll be in touch….” Dean nods, then glances at Sam then back. Castiel is gone. Sam sighs.

“When you find God, tell him to send legs!”

 

 


	9. Chapter Seven

A gun fires. Rufus Turner, a semi-retired hunter, and grouch, is holding the gun. He fires again and hurries backward to a Young Man lying on the ground. He drags the Young Man to relative safety behind a silver minivan.

“Your belt, your belt!” The Young Man pulls his belt off. Rufus takes it and wraps it around the Young Man's thigh above a bleeding injury, a makeshift tourniquet, and pulls it tight. The Young Man yelps. “Hey. Hey! Hold this” Rufus pulls out a phone and presses speed dial.

……………

Bobby's phone rings. Bobby picks it up.

“Hello?”

“Bobby. Bobby, damn it, can you hear me?”

“I can't hear you”

“Listen. I'm gonna need a little help here. Seems I'm up to my ass in demons. Whole damn town's infested. Hang on, hang on..”

“Where are you?”

“River Pass, Colorado”

“Colora—Colorado?”

“Colorado!”

“River Pass, Colorado?”

“River Pass!”

“Rufus? You there? Ruf—Rufus?”

“Bobby, it's…” Rufus looks up and spots two demons coming around the corner of the church, both black-eyed and one carrying an ax. Rufus stands up, ready to fire. Gunshots. The call cuts out. Bobby looks over at Sam and Dean.

……………….

The Impala drives up, approaching a bridge. The Impala stops on the bridge just short of the part of the bridge that isn't there. Sam and Dean get out for a closer look. Dean kicks a rock over the edge. It looks difficult enough to get a person across with any margin of safety; getting the car across will be impossible.

“This is the only road in or out” Sam pulls out his cell phone and holds it up.

“No signal”

“Rufus was right. Demons got this place locked down”

“Looks like we're hiking in”

“And the hits just keep on coming” Dean and Sam go around the Impala. Dean opens the trunk.

……………….

Sam and Dean walk along the street, carrying guns and bags and scanning the area. The near side of the street has a sporting goods store advertising ammo, rods and reels, and a thirty percent sale for Pioneers Day; the far side is residential. There is no sign of anyone other than Sam and Dean. A blue two-door sedan is overturned in the street. Dean notices the sporting goods store, Big Louie's. Dean ducks down to examine the car. Sam approaches the car from the far side, gun ready. Sam shakes his head: the car's empty. They straighten up and move on. A sprinkler is running in front of one of the houses: whatever happened to clear the area happened fast enough that no one turned it off. There's another car in the street, this one tan and the right way up. The driver's door is open, the engine is running, and the radio is playing "Spirit in the Sky". Sam and Dean approach this car, guns ready. It's empty. Sam turns the engine off. Silence falls. Sam sighs. A banner hangs over the street, welcoming folks to the seventy-fifth anniversary of River Pass, Colorado's Pioneer Days, with pictures of Grand Marshall Jerry Wanek and Rodeo Queen-Lee Lee Laschuk. They pause at a gleaming red classic Mustang. Sam loses interest when he sees it's empty; Dean admires it for a moment and whistles. Something sparks at the gas station. The Young Man's blood is still there next to the silver minivan. The driver's door of a silver four-door stands open. There's a baby stroller next to the door and a great deal of blood in front of and leading away from the door. Sam and Dean approach, then scan the area again. There's a large hole in the silver four-door's windshield. They move on. A gun cocks. Dean whips around, leveling his shotgun; Sam turns. Dean lowers the gun.

“Ellen?”

“Hello, boys” Dean glances back at Sam. Ellen lowers her gun and walks closer.

“Ellen, what the heck's going on here?” Ellen splashes Dean in the face with holy water and raises her gun. Dean closes his eyes for a moment, letting Ellen see that the water is neither boiling nor burning him. “We're us” Ellen lowers her gun and walks between Sam and Dean to the church.

………….

There's a devil's trap drawn inside the doorway and a line of salt across the threshold. Ellen, Dean, and Sam all walk across both with no problems. Ellen turns back.

“Real glad to see you boys” Ellen hugs Dean, then pulls back and slaps him. “The can of whoop-ass I ought to open on you”

“Ow!”

“You can't pick up a phone? What are you, allergic to giving me peace of mind? I got to find out that you're alive from Rufus?”

“Sorry, Ellen”

“Yeah, you better be. You better put me on speed dial, kid”

“Yes, ma'am” A long pause. Ellen turns to lead them further inside. Dean glances back at Sam, and they both follow her down the stairs. “What's going on, Ellen?”

“More than I can handle alone”

“How many demons are there?”  
“Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys” Ellen stops at a closed door and turns back. “So, this is it, right? End times?” Dean and Sam glance at each other. “It's got to be”

“Seems like it” Ellen knocks on the door.

“It's me” Someone on the far side opens a peephole, then opens the door; this is Austin. Behind him is the Pastor, an Old!Woman, a Young Man (not the one from earlier) with his arm around a Preg!Woman, a S!Haired-Man, a Long-bearded man, a man with glasses (his name is Roger), a Y!Woman, a Shaggy-Haired!Man, and sat alone, Sappheire; with Sam, Dean, and Ellen, a total of fourteen. Austin closes the door and stands next to the full bookshelf, now visibly holding a rifle. “This is Sam and Dean. They're hunters. Here to help”

“You guys hip to this whole demon thing?”

“Yeah. Are you?” Dean asks back.

“My wife's eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal” Roger answers, Roger brings his right hand to his chin, contemplating his ring. Dean turns to Ellen.

“All right, catch us up”

“I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called. Said he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me and Jo were nearby…”

“You're hunting with Jo?” Dean asks.

“Yeah, for a while now. We got here, and the place—well, the place was like you see it. Couldn't find Rufus, then me and Jo got separated. I was out looking when I found you”

“Don't worry, we'll find her”

“Either way, these people cannot just sit here” The Preg!Woman startles. Roger plays with his ring. Sam looks across at Sappheire who’s hiding beneath her scarf, a knee pulled to her chest. “We got to get them out now”

“No, it's not that easy. I've been trying. We already made a run for it once”  
“What happened?”  
“There used to be twenty of us” Sam and Dean check the room: excluding the three hunters, eleven.

“Well, there's three of us now…”

“You don't know what it's like out there. Demons are everywhere. We won't be able to cover everybody” The Preg!Woman is particularly nervous.

“What if we get everyone guns?”

“What, are you gonna arm up baby bump over here?”

“More salt we can fire at once, more demons we can keep away” Sam explains. Dean glances at him, then over at the Pastor.

“There's a sporting goods store we passed on Main on the way in. I bet they got guns” Dean and Sam drop their bags.

“All right. You stay. We'll go”

“What about….” Ellen starts.

“If Jo and Rufus are out there, we'll bring them back” Austin opens the door. Sam and Dean leave.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Hold on” Dean and Sam stop at the foot of the stairs. “Why don't I just go?”

“What? Alone?”

“Well, yeah. Somebody's got to stay here and start giving them Shotgun 101”

“Yeah. Ellen” Sam goes to go upstairs. Dean reaches out to stop him.

“No no no. It's gonna go a lot faster if you stay and help, okay?”

“While you go get guns and salt and look for Jo and Rufus? That's stupid”

“I can handle it” Sam pauses, realizing.

“You don't want me going out there”

“I didn't say that”

“Around demons”

“I didn't say that”

“Fine, then let's go” Sam heads up the stairs.

 


	10. Chapter Eight

“I'll get the salt. You get the guns” Sam tells Dean.

“We'll go together”

“Dean, it's right there. Can we at least do this like professionals?” Sam raises his gun and heads for the Quick-Mart at the corner of St. Olaf and Riverside. Dean watches him go, then heads in another direction, presumably along one of those streets to Big Louie's Sporting Goods.

……………….

Sam fills a plastic bag with cans of rock salt. He hears the door chime, pauses, and stands up. Two black-eyed demons have entered, one carrying a baseball bat and the other a backpack. Sam ducks and finds the mirror to watch them. Sam's shotgun is sitting on top of a row of Campbell's cans. He reaches for it and draws the attention of the demon collecting bottles of water, who rushes at him. They fight, slamming each other into shelves. The demon grabs Sam by the neck.

“Exorcisamus te, omnis immundus…” Sam clubs the demon with a can of rock salt. The demon knocks it out of his hand. Sam draws Ruby's knife and stabs the demon, who dies. Sam looks for the other demon, who jumps him from behind. Sam stabs him through the neck. The normal special effects are not present. Sam doesn't notice, being more interested in the blood on the floor and on the blade. He turns the blade, watching the blood flow, and runs his thumb along the blade, collecting a bit of blood, and contemplates that. The door chimes. Sam ducks and watches the mirror; it's Dean, setting down bags.

“Sammy?” Sam sighs in relief and stands. Dean comes into the aisle and sees the demons dead on the floor and the blood dripping off the knife.

…………………

The Shaggy-Haired!Man and the Old!Woman assemble salt shells. Roger practices loading a shotgun. Sappheire instead stands by the bookshelf, running her fingers down the spines as she watches the others, watches Sam, her hand is itching, her new tattoo, she pulls her sleeve up and looks to it and the half moon ticks faster.

“Okay, all right”

“Roger, hang on a second…” Roger fumbles and drops the shell.

“Sorry” Sam demonstrates loading a shotgun for the Young Man and the Preg!Woman.

“Then snap it in,” Sam notices Sappheire looking at her hand, she looks up at him and pulls her sleeve down to cover the tattoo, Sam moves to her. “You’re not joining in?” he asks.

“I don’t like guns,” she tells him. “Or violence”

“Personal preference might be thrown out the window today,” he tells her. “We need all-hands-on-deck”

“Don’t worry about me” she tells him looking to the books, she taps the bible and then drops her hand. “I won’t pick up a gun,” she tells him. “I don’t need it” Dean sets the butt of a rifle on the table and faces Austin.

“You know your way around a gun at all?” Austin expertly disassembles the gun. “Hm. Where'd you serve?”

“Fallujah. Two tours. Got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one. Where'd you serve?”

“Hell” Austin snorts, amused.

“No, seriously”

“Seriously. Hell” Dean sees Sam stood by the bookcase and goes over to him. “Hey” Sam is looking at Sappheire who looks to Dean, who completely ignores her, Sam turns to his brother.

“Hey”

“What's wrong?” Dean asks Sam who glances to Sappheire.

“Only you can see me” she whispers. “I don’t know why, you weren’t supposed to either…..” She presses a finger to her lips. “Perhaps keep this between you and me for now….” Dean can only see Sam, stood on his own. “Talk to your brother….” She turns and walks away, Sam watches her go, a frown on his face.

“It's just...at the store” Sam finally answers Dean. “Those demons were possessing teenagers. I mean, I had to slit some kid's throat”

“Come on, Sam, you had to”

“I know. I just...it used to be like...” Sam pauses. “I just wish I could save people like I used to”

“What, you mean when you were all hopped up on demon blood?”

“I didn't say that”

“I'll be back,” Ellen tells them. Dean and Sam look up; she's standing in front of them.

“Where you going?”

“I can't sit here on my ass. My daughter's out there somewhere. I'm not back in half an hour, go. Get these people out of here” Sam and Dean stand up.

“No, wait. I'll go with you”

“Whoa, hold on. Can I talk to you for a second?” Dean and Sam leave the room; there's a devil's trap and salt line at this door too. “You're gonna go out there again?”

“Well, crap doesn't hit the fan with coffee breaks”

“I'll go”

“It's fine. Just stay here, get 'em ready. I'll cover Ellen”

“Why's it got to be you?”

“Oh, that's right, I forgot. You think I'll take one look at a demon and suddenly fall off the wagon, as if, after everything, I haven't learned my lesson”

“Well, have you?” Sam slams Dean into the wall. The door is still open; Ellen looks over, so does Sappheire.

“If you actually think I…” he catches sight of Sappheire, convinced this is a side effect of his withdrawal. Sam cuts himself off. A long pause. Sam goes back into the room.

………………

Sappheire moves to Sam as he grabs his gun.

“Hey” he glances to her. “Things here are not what they seem,” she tells him.

“Cryptic” he whispers.

“Because I can’t work it out myself…” she tells him. “I just know that…something else is going on here…I was staying at the motel and went out for ice…and this guy cornered me and called me a black-eyed bitch….but I can’t get possessed” she tells him, he looks to her. She pulls a necklace out from under her shirt, an anti-possession necklace, it’s useless, but effective for this conversation, she can’t actually get possessed because of what she is, but she’s not going to tell him that. “I never take it off” he nods.

“Okay…so…there is something else going on here” she nods as well.

“I have a small theory but you probably won’t believe me” he raises an eyebrow. “The Apocalypse” she answers. “I mean Lucifer is freed and something has to happen, right?”

“How do you know that?” he asks her. She stares at him.

“I just…do” she sighs. “I had a…..dream…..more like a vision I suppose….I watched it happen…”

“So you know that I…”

“It’s not your fault,” she tells him, he looks to her. “It was Ruby’s….and Lilith’s….and a little bit on God and the angels…but not yours”

 


	11. Chapter Nine

The sprinkler is still going. Sam and Ellen walk past the tan car.

“So where'd you see her last?” Sam asks Ellen.

“Up ahead. So what's up with you and Dean?” Sam looks over, then back. “It was hard not to notice, how different things are between you guys these days” Sam stays silent. “Lot of bad road there, huh? What happened? Some girl come between you or something?”

“Just—stresses of the job. You know how it is. Kind of surprised, you and Jo hunting. Weren't you always saying she couldn't hack the life?”

“She can't. But if she's gonna do it anyway…..”

“You want to keep an eye on her” Sam looks down the street; smoke rises from behind trees. “Hey” Sam points.

“Is that a chimney going?”

“Looks like it. Come on”

………………..

Sam and Ellen approach a house with smoke coming from the chimney. They hide behind another building and peer around the corner; visible inside the house is a black-eyed demon.

“Guess we found base camp”

“Demons don't get cold. Makes you wonder what they're burning” Sam starts around the corner. Ellen is grabbed from behind. Sam whirls and slams his gun into a black-eyed demon. Another demon pins Ellen to the wall with another gun.

“Don't move, you evil skank!” The demon gets Sam's gun and starts whacking him with it. Sam slams him into the wall. The other demon lets go of Ellen to come help. Jo presses Ellen to the wall with her own gun. Jo's eyes go black.

“Don't you hurt her, don't you…”

“Give me my mom back, you black-eyed bitch!” Ellen shoves Jo off and slams her with the gun butt.

“Ellen! Run!” Sam cocks the shotgun and is hit from behind and knocked to the ground. Ellen takes off while Jo gets to her feet. Sam stares up at the new attacker. It's Rufus, black-eyed.

“Got you now, you bastard”

…………………

A fire burns in a fireplace. Someone is tied to a chair in front of the fireplace; it's Sam, just waking up and yanking at the ropes. Rufus and Jo, both black-eyed, are looking at him; Jo is carrying a gallon jug of water.

“Uh-uh. No way you're getting out of those. Did you up myself. You're stuck right where I want you, you evil son of a bitch” Rufus backhands Sam. Jo splashes him in the face with the water, then looks at him, confused. Rufus grabs Sam's neck, forcing his head back.

“No, wait, wait, wait” Jo puts down the jug and goes around to hold Sam's head back. “Just, just wait” Rufus pours salt on Sam's face and into his mouth.

“Exorcisamus te, exorcisamus te, omnis satanica…”

“Stop!”

“Omnis immundum…”

“Please!”

…………………

Dean paces. The Pastor sits at the table with the Old!Woman, the S!Haired-Man, and the Y!Woman. The Preg!Woman lies on a cot and the Young Man sits next to her. Austin stands near them. Sappheire sits with her legs on the table as she reads from the bible balanced on her legs.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He layeth me down in green pastures, and he raiseth me up again. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil” The Pastor reads. Someone pounds on the door. Everyone startles. Dean opens the peephole, moves what's blocking the door, and opens the door. Ellen comes in, alone.

“Where's Sam?” Ellen shakes her head and sits down next to the Y!Woman, who passes her a bottle of water.

“They took him? Demons took him? Oh my god. What if they're in here? The demons?”

“Could they get in?” The Pastor asks.

“No” Dean grabs a shotgun and heads for the door. “Everybody sit tight. I got to….” Dean stops with his hand on the doorknob and looks back; he grimaces and comes back to the table where a dozen people are depending on him. “Okay, we need to get a plan together. Tell me everything” Sappheire, with no attention on her, rolls her wrist, becomes visible.

………………….

Jo continues to hold Sam's head while Rufus pours salt on him.

“Please! Come on!”

“Omnis immundus…” Nothing's happening, so Rufus stops. Jo lets go of Sam to go pick up the water jug.

“Look! Something's not right! Do you see that?” Jo splashes Sam in the face. Sam spits out a mouthful of water. “Come on! Stop! Listen to me!” Jo is blocking Sam's line of sight to the open door. When Jo goes to grab something else, Sam sees Roger just outside the door. Roger turns the ring on his right hand. Sam looks around and up: he's sitting directly under an elaborate devil's trap. “Listen!” Jo and Rufus huddle in the corner.

“Why isn't it working?”

“I don't know” Rufus looks over his shoulder at Sam, who is black-eyed.

“Look, listen to me, something's not right!”

“But he's not as strong as he thinks he is”

“You can see that. Please. Please. Just listen to me”

……………….

Dean sits at the table with Ellen.

“Dean, one of them's in Jo. We got to get it out without hurting her” Ellen snorts. “It called me a bitch”

“Bruise a little easy, don't you think?”

“No, that's not what I meant. It called me a black-eyed bitch” Dean considers this. “What kind of demons are these? Holy water and salt roll right off. My daughter may be an idiot, but she's not stupid. She wears an anti-possession charm. It's all kind of weird, right?”

“The whole thing's off”

“What's your instinct?”

“My instinct? My instinct is to call Bobby and ask for help. Or Sam”

“Well, tough. All you got's me, and all I got's you. So let's figure it out”

“All right” Ellen smiles. “Do you know why Rufus came to town? Was there a specific omen?”

“He said something about water. That's all I know”

“Padré, you know what she's talking about—the water?” Dean asks as he turns to the Pastor.

“The river. Ran polluted all of a sudden”

“When?”

“Last Wednesday. And the demon thing started up the next day”

“Anything else? Anything”

“Maybe, but it's pretty random”

“Good. Random's good”

“Shooting star—does that count?” Dean and Ellen look at each other. “Real big. Same night. Wednesday”

“That definitely counts” Dean stands up and goes to the bookshelf. He brings a Bible back to the table and searches through it.

“So, uh, you think that all this comes from outer space?”

“This isn't X-Files, pal” Dean finds the passage he wants, only Sappheire smirks and beats him to it.

“"And there fell a great star from heaven” they all look to her. “burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was Wormwood. And many men died."” Dean looks over her, stood in her combat boots, distressed jeans and leather jacket, arms folded over her chest.

“Where did she come from?” The Preg!Woman asks.

“Seriously?” Sappheire asks with a sigh. “I’ve been here the whole time…”

“She was staying at the motel” S!Haired-Man states. “I brought her here…” he tells them.

“That was Revelation eight ten” The Pastor states. “Are you saying that this is about the apocalypse?”

“You could say. And these specific omens, they're prelude to what?” Dean asks looking to Sapphiere.

“The Four Horsemen” She answers.

“And which one rides the red horse?”

“War” she answers.

“That cherry Mustang parked on Main” Ellen nods.

“You can't think that a car…” The Pastor starts.

“It's the way I'd roll. I mean, think about it. It all makes sense. If War is a dude and he's here, maybe he's messing with our heads”

“Turning us on each other”

“You said Jo called you a black-eyed bitch. They think we're demons, we think they're demons. What if there are no demons at all and we're all just killing each other?”

“Wait, just back up. It's the apocalypse?”

“Sorry, Padré” The Pastor blinks several times in disbelief. 

 

 


	12. Chapter Ten

Sam is alone in the room, still tied to the chair. Roger comes in.

“Who the hell are you?” Roger takes off his glasses. “What are you?”

“You caught me. Popped in to watch. I can hustle like that”

“So, the Roger everyone around here knows, the real Roger?”

“Buried in a ditch” Sam rolls his eyes and nods. 'Roger' closes the door, moves another chair, and sits down.

“So who are you?”

“Here's a hint. I was in Germany. Then in Germany. Then in the Middle East. I was in Darfur when my beeper went off. I'm waiting to hook up with my siblings. I've got three. We're going to have so much fun together” Sam nods, realizing what Dean just did: this is one of the Four Horsemen, War.

“I know who you are. There aren't any demons in town, are there?”

“Nope. Just frightened people ripping each other's throats out. I really haven't had to do too much. Take out a bridge here, lay in a little hallucination there, sit back, pop some corn, watch the show. Frankly, you're really vicious little animals, Sam”

“No. You're doing this”

“Please. Last week, this was Mayberry. Now these people are stabbing each other's children”

“'Cause you made them see demons!”

“Honestly, people don't need a reason to kill each other. I mean, you seen the Irish? They're all Irish” Sam rolls his eyes. “You think I'm a monster. I'm jello shots at a party. I just remove inhibitions”

“I'm gonna kill you myself” War laughs.

“Oh, that's adorable, considering you're my poster boy”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“You can't stop thinking about it, ever since you saw it dripping off the blade of that knife” Sam is breathing hard.

“You're wrong”

“Save your protests for your brother. I can see inside your head. And man, it is one-track city in there. Blood, blood, blood. Lust for power. Same as always. You want to be strong again. But not just strong. Stronger than everybody. Good intentions—quick slide to hell, buddy boy. You feel bad now? Wait till you're thigh-deep in warm corpses. Because, my friend, I'm just getting started” War stands up and puts his glasses back on. “Showtime for the meatsuits. Watch this” War twists his ring. Blood flows down his forehead. He kicks over his chair, drops to the floor, and screams. Rufus kicks the door open, Jo right behind him. War looks up at them. “He did it!”

“No!” To Rufus, Sam appears black-eyed.

“He said they're coming! He said they're coming to get us!”

“No, stop! Jo, Rufus, he's lying! No!”

“You shut your mouth!”

“Please! Jo! He's lying!” Rufus backhands Sam.

……………….

Austin looks to Dean.

“So now you're saying that there are no demons and war is a guy”

“You believed crazy before” Someone hammers on the door.

“Open up! It's Roger!” Austin checks the peephole and lets War in. He's breathing hard, as if he's been running. “I saw them, the demons. They know we're trying to leave. They said they're gonna pick us off one by one”

“Wait wait wait. What?” Dean asks, Sappheire moves to his side.

“I thought you said there were no demons”

“There's not. Where did you go?” Dean asks.

“I thought someone should go out and see what's going on!”

“Where did you see the demons and what did they say exactly?”

“We just sit here, we're going to be dead”

“They're gonna kill us unless we kill them first”

“Hold on. Hold on”

“No, man, we got people to protect. All right, the able-bodied go hunt some demons” Austin picks up a shotgun and hands it to the Young Man.

“Whoa whoa whoa. Slow your roll. This is not a demon thing”

“It’s him” Sappheire whispers to Dean. “Look at his ring” she looks across at War who is staring back at her and holds up his right hand and twists his ring, then points to Dean, Sappheire, and Ellen.

“Look at their eyes! They're demons!” Dean and Ellen appear black-eyed. The Preg!Woman gasps. The Pastor raises a shotgun.

“Miss” he refers to Sappheire. “Step away from them” Sappheire makes a face.

“Urm…what?” she asks and looks to Dean and Ellen, not seeing anything different. She looks to War who smirks at her. Dean grabs her hand.

“Go, go!” Ellen, Sappheire, and Dean turn and run. Austin blasts the shotgun, hitting the door. “Move!” War watches, triumphant.

………………

Dean and Ellen look to Sappheire.

“You okay?” Ellen asks. Sappheire smirks and nods.

“I’m fine…this isn’t even the craziest thing that’s happened to me” she tells them walking away, they share a look and follow her. Ellen pulls a gun from her jeans and hands it to Sappheire. “No” Sappheire shakes her head. “I don’t play with guns…”

“You’re going to need it,” Dean tells her.

“I’m not touching that thing” she snaps back.

“Well we can’t fight and protect you” He snaps back at her.   
“I don’t need protecting….especially not by a hunter,” she tells him.

“The girl doesn’t want a gun, fine” Ellen tells Dean. “How about a knife?” Sappheire pulls an intricate dagger case from her jacket.

“I have this” Dean takes it from her and slides the blade free, he looks to her and then slides it back away, she takes it back from him.

“It’ll do,” Dean tells her.

“It served me well so far” she snarks back.

……………….

Rufus ties a wire around the latch on a closed window. Jo holds two bombs.

“Hey, Rufus”

“Yeah”

“Pipe bombs won't kill a demon” Rufus checks the wire; it's attached to another bomb.

“Right. But in my experience, demons come at you slower if they're in a body with no limbs” Rufus closes the curtains.

“One of them is in my mother” Rufus turns to her.

“Jo, listen to me. You know I'm gonna do everything I can. Your mom's gonna be okay” Jo nods.

“Unless she comes through that window” Rufus holds out a hand. Jo gives him the next bomb.

……………..

The church door opens. Austin comes out, scans the area, and holds the door open.

“All right, let's move” The Young Man, the Y!Woman, and War follow Austin. All four are holding shotguns.

……………

Jo and Rufus load shotguns. An explosion; Jo and Rufus duck. They look at each other, then ready guns to go have a look. The front room is devastated and empty. Rufus peers through the windows. Someone grabs Rufus and pulls him through the window.

“Rufus!” Someone else grabs Jo from behind.

……………

Rufus comes through the window; Dean slams him to the ground.

“Now!” Dean snaps looking back at Sappheire who rolls her eyes and slips into the house.

…………….

Jo and Ellen fight. Ellen appears black-eyed. Ellen pins Jo to the wall.

“Now you listen up, Joanna Beth Harvelle”

……………..

Dean hauls Rufus up and slams him against the wall. Dean appears black-eyed.

“Listen to me. I'm not a demon. Think, Rufus. All those omens”

“You go to hell” Rufus kicks Dean in the crotch, then hits him in the chest and face. Rufus lunges for his dropped gun and Dean hauls him away, pushing him back against the wall.

“Rufus! The polluted water, the shooting star, the red Mustang—it's War. I'm telling you, it's War”

“You're damn right it is” Rufus punches Dean in the face and goes for the gun. Dean tackles him.

“The Horseman!”   
“Horseman?”

“Yes. He's turning us against each other. You're hallucinating” Rufus stares up at Dean. The black fades from Dean's eyes.

“The Horseman. War.”

“Yes,” Rufus looks to each side.

“Did you figure this out all by yourself, genius?”

…………….

Austin leads the charge to a car. Everyone takes cover behind it.

……………..

Dean and Rufus burst inside. Ellen turns and levels a shotgun.

“Whoa, whoa!”

“We all on the same page?” Dean and Rufus look at each other and nod.

“Good”

“Hi, Jo” Dean greets.

“Hey”

“Okay, we got to find War before everybody in this town kills each…” Gunshots. Everyone ducks.

……………..

Sam is alone. The door opens: it's Sappheire. She smiles and waves her fingers at him.

“It's not demons,” he tells her.

“It's War” they state together. He looks to her surprised. She moves to crouch behind him and grows her werewolf nails to cut through the ropes.

“The ring,” Sam tells her.

“Right” she pulls all the ropes away from him. “We got to move. Come on. Your brother’s downstairs” she grabs his arm and pulls him up. Sam frowns at her.

“If you’re not real…how can I feel that?” she looks to him.

“I never said I wasn’t real” she corrects him. “I just said they couldn’t see me” he frowns as she helps him out the room.

…………….

Austin fires the rifle at the house.

………………

Dean ducks and looks upstairs.

“Damn it! Sophie!? Hurry up!” Ellen gives Jo the shotgun.

“Take this” Ellen rushes in one direction.

“Jeez don’t get your panties in a knot, we’re here” Sappheire states helping Sam down the stairs. Sam looks to her and whispers.

“He can see you?”

“Yeah, he can see me” she answers, Dean takes Sam’s other arm. Dean looks to her.

“Thanks” she smirks and shrugs.

“Go after War….” She tells him. “I think I can stop this”

“You?” Dean scoffs.

“Shut up,” Sam tells him, Dean looks surprised, Sam looks to Sappheire. “How?” she smirks.

“A little bit of magic,” she tells him, lifting his arm from her and moving to the window. Dean frowns as she raises her hand, a ball of red mist bouncing along her fingers, she flicks it out the open window, she turns Dean and Sam. “Go, he’s not going to wait around for you” Dean eyes her carefully before he and Sam leave.

……………..

Austin exchanges bullets with another Young Man in an upper window of the house. The Old!Woman crosses herself and folds her hands. The Shaggy-Haired!Man hurries along behind a fence. The Young Man peers around a corner. Another man shoots at him; he pulls back, keeping the Preg!Woman behind him. The Shaggy-Haired!Man and the other man exchange fire. Sappheire’s red mist floats into their minds, clearing War’s influence.

……………….

War walks up to the red Mustang. He looks back over his shoulder and sees nothing. He reaches for the door and Dean and Sam grab him. War laughs. Dean holds on to War. Sam draws Ruby's knife.

“Whoa. Okay…..you’re walking away from your greatest weapon” War tells them.

“What? You’re willing to go against the devil?” Dean asks, War smirks.

“Oh, not me…..the Bride” The two brothers stare at him. “The Wolf…The Destroyer of Dreams….the She-Devil…..why do you think I choose this town? She’s here and you’ve just walked away from the most powerful weapon against Lucifer” Dean looks to Sam.   
“Sophie” he states.

“Sophie?” War asks. “Is that what she’s going by nowadays? Sappheire…the first and only of her kind” Sam grabs War’s wrist. “Come on. You can't kill war, kiddos”

“Oh, we know” Sam slams War's right hand against the Mustang and cuts all four fingers off. The ring clinks on the pavement. Dean leans down and picks up the ring. War and the red Mustang are gone; Sam and Dean look for them before Dean sighs.

“Should have known that chick was bad news” He states.

“Why?” Sam asks. “She helped us figure it out”

“She was hot….hot woman are always bad news……Lucifer’s Bride” Dean scoffs. “You ever heard of him having a wife before?”

“No….” Sam shakes his head.

…………….

Dean and Sam sit at a picnic table. Dean holds up the ring.

“So, pit stop at Mount Doom?” Sam is silent, pensive.

“Dean….”

“Sam, let's not”

“No, listen. This is important. I know you don't trust me” Dean looks away. “Just, now I realize something. I don't trust me either” Dean looks up. “From the minute I saw that blood, only thought in my head...and I tell myself it's for the right reasons, my intentions are good, and it, it feels true, you know? But I think, underneath...I just miss the feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. Thing is, the problem's not the demon blood, not really. I mean, I, what I did, I can't blame the blood or Ruby or...anything. The problem's me. How far I'll go. There's something in me that...scares the hell out of me, Dean. In the last couple of days, I caught another glimpse...”

“So what are you saying?”

“I'm in no shape to be hunting. I need to step back, 'cause I'm dangerous. Maybe it's best we just...go our separate ways” Dean considers this.

“Well, I think you're right”

“I was expecting a fight”

“The truth is I spend more time worrying about you than about doing the job right. And I just, I can't afford that, you know? Not now” Sam nods.

“I'm sorry, Dean”

“I know you are, Sam” Sam moves to stand up. “Hey, do you, uh, wanna take the Impala?”

“It's okay” Sam stands up, takes a few steps, and turns back. “Take care of yourself, Dean”

“Yeah, you too, Sammy” Sam walks to the Impala, grabs his backpack out of the back seat, and walks over to the pickup truck parked nearby. He says something inaudible to the driver and gets in the passenger side. The truck drives off. Dean watches it go.

………………….

Sappheire looks to her car and touches the sealed trunk, she walks around to the driver’s side and climbs in.

 


	13. Chapter Eleven

Sappheire lies in an otherwise empty motel bed and trying to sleep. She opens her eyes, sighs, and rolls over. She sits up seeing Silas lounging next to her.

"Geia sou, agapití adelfí" he greets in their native Greek. She stares at him. "I've missed you" Sappheire keeps staring.

"I'm dreaming" she states.

"Or you're not. What's the difference? I'm here" he tells her.

"No...you're not" she pushes the blankets off of herself and climbs from the bed and away from him. "I know you're not here...you're still in your tomb" she turns to her spell bag and grabs a small black pouch from it. "I control my own dreams" she opens the bag and grabs a handful of the power within.

"Like you control your own fate?" he smirks at her. She holds up her hand and inhales the dust, her eyes roll and she collapses. 'Silas' cocks his head and makes a face.

.....................

Sappheire wakes with a start, she looks to the other side of her bed. Empty. She jumps out of the bed and starts packing her things.

.....................

Dean dampens a washcloth in the motel room sink and starts to clean his jacket. Castiel appears behind him. Dean sees him in the mirror and startles.

"God" Dean thumps the sink. "Don't do that"

"Hello, Dean" Dean turns around; Castiel is inches from him.

"Cas, we've talked about this. Personal space?"

"My apologies" Castiel steps back. Dean grabs his jacket and walks toward the bed.

"How'd you find me? I thought I was flying below the angel radar" Dean rubs his ribs to illustrate the point.

"You are. Bobby told me where you were" Castiel looks around the motel room, which has no signs of Sam's presence, not even a second bed. "Where's Sam?" Dean puts on his jacket without looking at Castiel.

"Me and Sam are taking separate vacations for a while. So. You find God yet? Cause we crossed the Bride. More importantly, can I have my damn necklace back, please?"

"You saw the Bride?" Castiel asks.

"We didn't know until after the fact, by then she was gone...." Castiel's face falls.

"No, I haven't found him. That's why I'm here. I need your help"

"With what? God hunt? Not interested"

"It's not God. It's someone else"

"Who?"

"Archangel. The one who killed me"

"'Scuse me?"

"His name is Raphael"

"You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

"I've heard whispers that he's walking the earth. This is a rare opportunity"

"For what? Revenge?"

"Information" Dean goes back over to the sink, picks up his knife and a washcloth, and starts to clean the knife.

"So, what, you think you can find this dude and he's just gonna spill God's address?"

"Yes, because we are gonna trap him and interrogate him" Dean pauses and turns back.

"You're serious about this" Castiel turns around to face Dean. Dean drops the washcloth and walks back toward Castiel. "So, what, I'm Thelma and you're Louise and we're just going to hold hands and sail off this cliff together?" Castiel stares at Dean, confused. Dean goes around Castiel and does something offscreen with the knife. "Give me one good reason why I should do this"

"Because you're Michael's vessel and no angel will dare harm you" Dean looks at Castiel.

"Oh, so I'm your bullet shield"

"I need your help because you are the only one who'll help me. Please" Dean considers.

"All right, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine. Let's go" Castiel reaches to touch Dean's forehead with two fingers. Dean leans away.

"Whoa" Castiel removes his hand.

"What?"

"Last time you zapped me someplace I didn't poop for a week. We're driving"

.....................

Lindsey is throwing darts; they land near the center of the target. Sam is at the bar next to the bartender.

"Hey, Keith, you play?" Keith is actually Sam.

"That depends. What are we playing for?" he asks.

"World peace"

"Oh, is that all?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot" Sam wipes his hands off on a cloth and tosses it at the bar. Lindsey retrieves her darts.

"You finished that crossword puzzle in the kitchen?"

"Uh, I guess. Why?"

"The New York Times Saturday crossword?" Sam looks down.

"Was it?"

"Uh-huh. You blow into town last week, you don't talk to anybody, you're obviously highly educated. You're like this..."

"Riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco?" Sam offers. Lindsey nods, smiling.

"Here's what we play for. When I win, you buy me dinner and tell me your life story"

"Sounds fair" Sam throws all three darts into the center of the target. "Very mysterioso. I like it" Sam's attention is on KPJT 6 News on the TV, which shifts from one video of a hailstorm to another, then to video of trees on fire, then to the reporter live with fire and firemen in the background. While the reporter is onscreen, so is a box that says "LIVE REPORT" next to a scrollbar repeating "FIRE CONSUMES TOWN, RESIDENTS FORCED TO EVACUATE..."

"The town of Tully? tonight, John. Locals say that what started as a torrential hailstorm late this afternoon suddenly turned to massive lightning strikes that triggered the fires now consuming more than twenty acres here along the Route 17 corridor. County officials are advising all Tully residents to prepare for what could become mandatory evacuations" The bartender shuts the TV off.

"Damn. Is it me or does it seem like it's the end of the world?" Sam looks away.

......................

Sappheire packs up her car, sets her mirror box in and slams the trunk and walks around it to the driver's side, she turns sharply and holds up a hand and pulls her fingers to her palm. 

"ARGH!" The figure who'd been stalking her crumples in pain, she moves towards him and sets her boot into his shoulder. 

"Who do you work for?" she asks pushing her heel down. He remains silent, she smirks. "Fine....we'll do this the other way" she crouches and grabs his throat turning and slamming him against her car, rest mist seeping from her fingers, around his face, and into his head. "You don't need to tell me anything.....I can take it by force" she lets her mist seep into his demon ichor. "Who's Crowley?" she asks and then scoffs. "Another low-level demon" she lets go of the demon. "Nothing to worry about then" she presses a hand to his chest and stares into his eyes. "Go back to Crowley and tell him you couldn't find me" she compels him before throwing him down behind her, she climbs into her car. "Dumb ass demons" she complains driving away.

...........

Dean walks through the empty cabin, paging through John's journal. He sets it down on the table and turns. Castiel is there, holding a ceramic jar.

“Where've you been?”

“Jerusalem”

“Oh, how was it?”

“Arid” Castiel sets the jar on the table.

“What's that?”

“It's oil. It's very special. Very rare” Castiel sits down.

“Okay, so we trap Raphael with a nice vinaigrette?”

“No”

“So this ritual of yours, when does it got to go down?”

“Sunrise”

“Tell me something. You keep saying we're gonna trap this guy. Isn't that kinda like trapping a hurricane with a butterfly net?”

“No, it's harder”

“Do we have any chance of surviving this?”

“You do”

“So odds are you're a dead man tomorrow” Dean points out. 

“Yes”

“Well. Last night on earth. What are your plans?”

“I just thought I'd sit here quietly”

“Come on, anything? Booze, women?” Castiel looks at Dean and away, uncomfortable. “You have been with women before. Right? Or an angel, at least?” Castiel rubs the back of his neck. “You mean to tell me you've never been up there doing a little cloud-seeding?”

“Look, I've never had occasion, okay?”

“All right” Dean grabs his jacket. “Let me tell you something. There are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not gonna die a virgin. Not on my watch. Let's go” Dean leaves. Castiel stares after him then follows.

……………….

A patron plays pool. Sam takes a tray of empty glasses and trash.

“Hey, Sam” Sam ignores him. “Sam”

“Sam? What happened to Keith?” Lindsey asks. Sam puts down the tray and looks over.

“Wait, what?” Lindsey gestures at the man, whose name is Tim, and his two companions, Reggie and Steve.

“He called you Sam”

“Yeah. Uh. Sam's my middle name” Lindsey laughs.

“Keith Sam? Man, I'm sorry”

“Well, actually, it's Samuel, so it's not quite as dumb as it sounds” Tim offers.

“Are you guys friends?”

“Hunting buddies. With his dad. Samuel here is quite the hunter himself” Steve answers.

“Wow. You killed deer and things?”

“Yeah, and things” Tim answers.

“Um. Why don't I get you guys some drinks?” The three hunters sit at a table. Sam puts beers in front of them and takes the fourth seat.

“Sorry. Didn't mean to bust you back there”

“No. It's all right. So what's up?”

“Bobby called”

“And?”

“You were right. Major demon block party going on”

“But why? What are they up to?”

“Don't know yet.”

“Bobby told us you were off-limits. That true?”

“Yeah, that's right”

“That's fine in theory and all, but we could really use all hands on deck here”

“I know you could. But I can't. I'm sorry”

“Why not?”

“It's personal”

“Look, man, what baggage is so heavy it can't be stowed away for the freaking apocalypse?”

“Like I said…”

“Yeah. You're sorry. Heard it the first time”

“Suit yourself. More for us then, right?”

“Good luck” Sam offers.

“But hey. Beers are on you when we get back”

“Yeah, you bet” Tim, Reggie and Steve leave. Lindsey moves to Sam.

“So your parents were drunk when they named you and you shoot Bambi?”

“It's a long story”

“That is it. Enough with the kung fu wandering the earth thing. I'm gonna buy you dinner and we're gonna talk”

“Lindsey, I can't” 

“No. The only way to avoid bloodshed is to say yes”

…………………

Sappheire drives, possibly faster then she should be, she’s trying to outrun…well everything, she knows that that was a dream and it was not Silas. It couldn’t have been. She knows he is locked away, buried in his tomb. She grips the wheel harder, she can guess, the devil, Lucifer, the serpent, maybe her spells can’t keep him out, she looks to the mark on her hand and reaches over to yank her sleeve over it.

…………………….

In a brothel Dean drinks. Castiel looks terrified.

“Hey. Relax”

“This is a den of iniquity. I should not be here”

“Dude, you full-on rebelled against heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks” A Hooker approaches. Dean notices. “Showtime”

“Hi. What's your name?” Castiel tries not to look at her.

“Cas” Castiel startles. “His name is Cas. What's your name?”

“Chastity”

“Chastity” Castiel drinks his beer. “Wow. Is that kismet or what, buddy? Well, he likes you, you like him, so dayenu” Chastity tugs Castiel up.

“Come on, baby” Dean catches Castiel on the way past.

“Hey, listen. Take this” Dean holds out a handful of money. “If she asks for a credit card, no. Now just stick to the basics, okay? Do not order off the menu. Go get her, tiger” Castiel stays still. “Don't make me push you” Castiel takes the money and turns to follow Chastity. Another hooker walks past; Dean follows her.

………………..

The Hooker and Dean clink glasses at the bar.

“Well, cheers to you” A scream sounds and Dean goes to investigate.

…………………

“Get out of my face! Leave me alone! Bastard! Screw you, jerk!” She throws something at Castiel, who is a little disheveled. “I'll kill you!” She storms past Dean. “Screw you too! God! Oh! Jerk!” Dean approaches Castiel.

“The hell did you do?”

“I don't know. I just looked her in the eyes and told her it wasn't her fault that her father Gene ran off. It was because he hated his job at the post office”

“Oh, no, man”

“What?”

“This whole industry runs on absent fathers. It's, it's the natural order” Two bouncers enter from the door Chastity left through. “We should go. Come on” He and Castiel head for the door at the opposite end of the corridor.

…………………

Dean is laughing as he closes the door behind himself and Castiel.

“What's so funny?” Castiel asks.

“Oh, nothing. Whoo. It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard. It's been more than a long time. Years.” Dean's face falls as he realizes.

………………….

Sam and Lindsey are sitting at a table, eating.

“So...you gonna tell me who those guys back there really were? And don't say hunting buddies”

“Okay. Um. We used to be in the same business together”

“What business?”

“How's your salad?”

“Witness protection, right? You're Mafia?”

“I'm not Mafia” 

“Okay, I get it. Don't mean to pry, my bad” 

“I used to be in business with my brother. Truth is I was pretty good at the job. But...I made some mistakes, I did some stuff I'm not so proud of, and people got hurt. A lot of people”

“What was your poison?”

“Sorry?”

“Come on. You were hooked on something, I know the look” Lindsey pulls a medallion out of her pocket. “Three years sober”

“You work in a bar”

“So do you. Look, Keith. I don't know you and I'm the last person to be giving advice, but I do know that no one has ever done anything so bad that they can't be forgiven. That they can't change”

 

 


	14. Chapter Twelve

Sam is wiping down a table when the door behind him chimes open and someone walks in.

“Bar's closed” Sam turns around. “Hey” It’s Tim.

“Something you want to tell me, Sam?”

“What? No”

“You sure about that?”

“I—I don't know—jeez. Are you okay?" he asks noting that Tim is covered in blood. "Where are Reggie and Steve?”

“Oh, Steve's good, he's, uh, his guts are lying roadside outside the Hawley Five and Dime”

“I'm sorry”

“Sorry don't cut it, Sam”

“What do you want me to say?”

“The truth,” Sam says nothing. “Okay, fine. Let me give you some of my own, then. We go into town, we catch ourselves a demon, we get jumped by ten more. Steve bought it”

“I'm sorry”

“Saying it twice don't make it so, Sam. You see, this demon, he, uh, he told us things. Crazy things, things about you, Sam”

“Demons lie”

“Yeah. I'm gonna ask you one last time. The truth. Now” The door chimes again. Reggie comes in, hauling Lindsey.

“Lindsey!” Reggie holds a knife to Lindsey's neck.

“What's going on?!”

…………………

Castiel and Dean talk to Raphael who is trapped in a circle of holy fire.

“But there's no other explanation. He's gone for good” Raphael is talking about God.

“You're lying”

“Am I? Do you remember the twentieth century? Think the twenty-first is going any better? Do you think God would have let any of that happen if He were alive?”

“Oh yeah? Well, then who invented the Chinese basket trick?” Dean asks. 

“Careful. That's my Father you're talking about, boy”

“Yeah, who would be so proud to know His sons started the frigging apocalypse”

“Who ran off and disappeared. Who left no instructions and a world to run”

“Daddy ran away and disappeared. He didn't happen to work for the post office, did He?”

“This is funny to you? You're living in a godless universe”

“And? What, you and the other kids just decided to throw an apocalypse while He was gone?”

“We're tired. We just want it to be over. We just want...paradise”

“So, what, God dies and makes you the boss and you decide you can do whatever you want?”

“Yes. And whatever we want, we get” The windows burst in.

…………………..

Back in the bar with Sam, Reggie, Tim, and Lindsey.

“Just take it easy, okay? Put the knife down” Reggie puts the knife down on the bar but keeps hold of Lindsey. “It's true. What the demons said, it's all true”

“Keep going”

“Why? You gonna hate me any less? Am I gonna hate myself any less? What do you want?”

“I want to hear you say it”

“I did it. I started the apocalypse” Sam admits sadly.

…………………….

“If God is dead, why have I returned? Who brought me back?” Castiel asks Raphael.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe Lucifer raised you?”

“No”

“Think about it. He needs all the rebellious angels he can find. You know it adds up”

“Let's go,” Castiel tells Dean.

“Castiel, I'm warning you. Do not leave me here. I will find you”

“Maybe one day. But today, you're my little bitch” Castiel leaves. Dean follows, pausing he turns back to Raphael.

“What he said,” Dean tells him and then follows Castiel out, leaving Raphael in the circle of holy flames. 

……………………..

Tim holds up a test tube of red liquid. Sam stares at it.

“What is that?” Sam asks.

“What do you think it is? It's go juice, Sammy boy”

“Get that away from me”

“Away from you? No. This is for you. Hell if that demon wasn't right as rain. Down the hatch, son”

“You're insane”

“Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna drink this, Hulk out, and you're gonna waste every one of the demon scum that killed my best friend” Tim nods at Lindsey, whom Reggie has just handcuffed to the bar. “Or she dies”

“You wouldn't do that”

“It's funny how watching your best friend die changes that” Reggie and Tim advance on Sam, who retreats. “Come on, you know you want it, Sam. Just reach out and take it” Reggie charges Sam, who tosses him into the pool table. The door slams open and they turn to it, Sappheire strides in, her eyes glowing red. “What the hell?”

“Back away” she growls. “Or I will show you that demons are the least of your worries”

“Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of creature” Reggie snaps, Sappheire chuckles and throws out her hands, red mist restrains the two men pulling them to the floor with thuds.

“You watch your tone with me, boy” she snaps.

“Sophie” Sam holds out his hand towards her. “It’s okay…” she growls at him and then softens, drops her hands and steps back, her eyes returning to normal. Sam turns to Reggie and Tim. “Go”

“Don't think we won't be back” Sappheire growls at them as they leave.

……………………..

Dean drives. Castiel rides shotgun.

“You okay?” Castiel is silent. “Look, I'll be the first to tell you that this little crusade of yours is nuts, but I do know a little something about missing fathers”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there were times when I was looking for my dad when all logic said that he was dead, but I knew in my heart he was still alive. Who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?”

“I believe he's out there”

“Good. Then go find him”

“What about you?”

“What about me? I don't know. Honestly, I'm good. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I am, I'm really good”

“Even without your brother?”

“Especially without my brother. I mean, I spent so much time worrying about the son of a bitch. I mean, I've had more fun with you in the past twenty-four hours than I've had with Sam in years, and you're not that much fun. It's funny, you know, I've been so chained to my family, but now that I'm alone, hell, I'm happy” Dean looks over; the shotgun seat is empty. His smile falters.

…………………..

Sam sets a beer in front of Sappheire as she nervously plays with her hands.

“So….Sophie” she looks up at him. “...Sappheire" He corrects, she sighs a little. "What are you?”

“You won’t believe me…” she answers lifting a hand to the beer.

“The Bride…” he offers, she snaps her head.

“Don’t…that stupid prophecy” she growls her eyes flashing yellow. Sam stares at her.

“What prophecy?”

“I assumed because you knew my title…” she clears her throat. “' _She, the one made up of three, shall walk the long lonely path until He, Morning Star, breaks free from his cage_ ” She looks to Sam.  _“And rises to take her as his bride and Queen'"_  She tells him. "Morning Star is another name for…”

“Lucifer” she nods.

“Since the day I was born I was destined to be his wife, whether I liked it or not…I forgot about it…the prophecy for years….”

“Till we opened the cage…”

“I’ve been running since” she stands. “I don’t know why I came here….I’ll go” she grabs her jacket from the back of the chair.

“The one made up of three?” he asks. Sappheire stops and looks to him. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know.....my family…it’s very old and made up of very powerful witches….maybe it has something to do with that” she lies to him.

“You’re a witch?” she sighs and looks to him.

“I cast fertility spells and enchant good luck charms…I wouldn’t say I was very impressive witch….and I know hunters are…iffy on witches” she pulls on her jacket. “I guess I’ll see you around” she moves to the door.

“You’re being hunted,” he tells her. “Aren’t you? That motherlode of demons” she hangs her head. “They were after you?” she nods.

“Yeah….I tried waiting them out, demons aren’t known for their patience…" 

……….

Sam sleeps on the couch across from the bed, which he’d given up for Sappheire, who sleeps.

“Adelfí” Silas coos. “Adelfí mou” Sappheire groans as she wakes. Silas sits next to her reading a book. “So. This is your life now? Think you can run forever?” he asks. She sits up and turns away from him. Silas reaches up and brushes a hand through her hair, as he does he morphs into Nick, Silas has been Lucifer all along, he runs his thumb down her cheek. “I see my father choose well” Sappheire turns, sees Lucifer where she expected Silas, and stands up and backs away. “That's right. You know who I am”

“Lucifer”

“You are a hard one to find, Sappheire. Harder than most. I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?” she shakes her head.

“What do you want with me?” he smirks.

“Come now, you know the answer to that, love. I now walk the Earth and I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything”

“I don't want anything from you”

“I'm so sorry, Love, I, I really am, but you know that destiny can’t be fought” he stands and moves closer to her. “You and I will lay waste to this world….” He reaches up and plays with a strand of her hair “I’ll even find your brother…you do miss him, don’t you?” he strokes her cheek. “You're mine”

“No”

“Yes”

“No. That'll never happen”

“I'm sorry, but it will. I will find you. And when I do, you will give in to me. I'm sure of it” he whispers in her ear. “ I will never lie to you. I will never trick you. I will just love you” he tells her. “You are the most powerful woman on this miserable planet….and you will be my wife”

“You're wrong” she whispers, he kisses her cheek.

“I'm not. I think I know you better than you know yourself”

“Why me?” she asks.

“Because it had to be you, Sappheire. It always had to be you” Sappheire looks up. Lucifer is gone.

……………..

Sam wakes from his own ‘nightmare’, to find Sappheire’s red mist everywhere. He looks to her as she whimpers in her sleep.

“No” he stands and moves to her, touches her cheek and threads his fingers through her hair, she growls and leaps at him as she wakes, her eyes glowing yellow and her werewolf face out, Sam stares at her as she straddles his waist and growls down at him. Realizing what she's doing, her face returns to normal and she scrambles off of him. “I’m sorry”

“It’s okay” he leans up. “I shouldn’t have startled you…..your face” she reaches up and touches her own face before looking away.

 


	15. Chapter Thirteen

A Religious Man stands outside the hotel with a handful of pamphlets. He addresses a passer-by while the Impala drives up.

“Hi. Good evening, brother. Is your soul rapture-ready?” The passer-by ignores him. “Thank you, sir. God bless” The Religious Man addresses two passer-bys while the Impala stops in front of the hotel. “Good evening, folks. Is your soul rapture-ready? Because what I'd like to do is just show you exactly what God's love is for you” The two passer-bys ignore him. “Okay, God bless” Dean gets out of the Impala and heads for the hotel. The Religious Man addresses him. “Excuse me, friend, but have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?” Dean stops and looks at him.

“Too friggin' much, pal” Dean enters the hotel. The Religious Man watches him go.

………………….

Dean and Castiel are on the phone.

“We're talking about the Colt, right? I mean, as in the Colt?”

“We are”

“Well, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?” A car goes by Castiel.

“What? What? Did—I didn't—I didn't get that” Dean laughs.

“You know, it's kind of funny. Talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's, you know, like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped”

“This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes”

“Okay, all right. I'm—I'm telling you, Cas, the mooks have melted down the gun by now”

“Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the devil, this is how we do it”

“Okay. Where do we start?”

“Where are you now?”

“Kansas City” Dean leans across the bed to grab his room key off the bedside table. “Century Hotel, room 113”

“I'll be there immediately”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, come on, man. I just drove like sixteen hours straight, okay? I'm human. And there's stuff I got to do”

“What stuff?”

“Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need like four hours once in a while, okay?”

“Yes”

“Okay, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning”

“Yes. I'll just…” Dean hangs up. Castiel hears a dial tone. “Wait here, then” Castiel stands at the side of the road.

………………………..

Dean is in bed. His phone vibrates; he answers it.

“Damn it, Cas, I need to sleep!”

“Dean, it's me”

“Sam? It's quarter past four”

“This is important”

…………………………

Dean gets a beer out of the fridge. Sam is driving, Sappheire sleeps in the passenger side, he glances to her.

“So, you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?”

“That's what he said”

“Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?”

“So, that's it? That's your response?”

“What are you looking for?”

“I don't know. A—a little panic? Maybe?”

“I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point”

“Well….I have another one…” Dean groans. 

“Go on”

“The Bride…”

“Yeah, what about her?”

“She’s sat next to me” Dean raises an eyebrow.

“How about that?” he teases. “She still hot?”

“Dude…What are we gonna do about it?”

“What do you want to do about it?”

“I want back in, for starters”

“Sam…”

“I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches…..I'm gonna hunt him down, Dean”

“Oh, so, we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time”

“Not revenge. Redemption”

“So, what, you're just gonna walk back in and we're gonna be the dynamic duo again?”

“Look, Dean, I can do this. I can. I'm gonna prove it to you”

“Look, Sam—it doesn't matter—whatever we do. I mean, it turns out that you and me, we're the, uh, the fire and the oil of the Armageddon…and you’re baby-sitting the devil’s wife. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other for good”

“Dean, it does not have to be like this. We can fight it”

“Yeah, you're right. We can. But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam. I think we're weaker. Because whatever we have between us—love, family, whatever it is—they are always gonna use it against us. And you know that. Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways”

“Dean, don't do this”

“Bye, Sam” Dean hangs up. Sam sighs and looks to Sappheire who shifts in her sleep.

………………..

The nightstand clock is smashed; when Dean answered his phone it was fine. Dean is lying on the springs of the hotel bed; the mattress is gone. Dean gets up and looks around; the entire room is trashed. He looks out the window; so is the city.

………………...

Dean leaves the hotel and takes a look around; the area is devastated, everything is broken or graffitied on or both. Dean hears something, like glass smashing. He goes to investigate. The first sign of life Dean sees is a girl in an alley with a teddy bear. Dean approaches her slowly.

“Little girl? Little girl? Are you hurt? You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?” Blood drips from the Girl's mouth. The girl shrieks and attacks Dean with a shard of glass. Dean flattens her and looks around, catching sight of a large piece of graffiti: it reads ‘CROATOAN’. “Oh, crap” Several people, all most likely infected with the Croatoan virus the same as the girl, come around the corner. Dean runs. They chase him onto a street blocked by a chain-link fence. Several soldiers on tanks arrive, shooting the infected people. A glass window shatters. One of the soldiers flicks a switch on an electronic device. The Contours' "Do You Love Me" plays. The soldier drinks from a glass bottle. Gunfire. Two infected people fall. A soldier jumps out of a tank. Several soldiers advance with gunfire. More infected people fall. Dean stays under cover and retreats to an alley. More infected people fall. Dean makes it to the safety of an alley.

………………..

Dean breaks through the fence of a Hot Zone Enclosure. A sign on the fence reads: CROATOAN VIRUS. HOT ZONE. NO ENTRY. BY ORDER OF ACTING REGIONAL COMMAND AUGUST 1, 2014. KANSAS CITY.

“August first, 2014” Dean hotwires a conveniently located, conveniently fuelled car.

…………………

Dean is driving. There is no cell service and only static on the radio.

“That's never a good sign”

“"Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia."” Zachariah has arrived in the shotgun seat, startling Dean; he reads from a newspaper.

“I thought I smelled your stink on this Back to the Future crap”

“"President Palin defends bombing of Houston." Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me”

“How did you find me?”

“Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out”

“The Bible freak outside the motel—he, what, dropped a dime on me?”

“Onward, Christian soldiers”

“Okay, well, good, great. You have had your jollies. Now send me back, you son of a bitch”

“Oh, you'll get back—all in good time. We want you to marinate a bit”

“Marinate?”

“Three days, Dean. Three days to see where this course of action takes you”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means that your choices have consequences. This is what happens to the world if you continue to say "no" to Michael. Have a little look-see” Zachariah vanishes.

…………………..

Dean opens the door to Bobby's house.

“Bobby? Bobby, I'm coming in!” Dean looks around. The place is pretty thoroughly trashed, and from the spiderwebs and dust, no one has been around in a while. “Oh, no” Bobby’s wheelchair is on its side. Dean sets it upright and sees the bullet holes through and dried blood on the back of the seat. “Where is everybody, Bobby?” Dean opens a hidden compartment and pulls out John's journal. He finds a photo of Bobby with Castiel, three unidentified men, and a sign. “Camp Chitaqua”

…………………….

Dean approaches the sign from the photo. Men with guns are just inside the fence, patrolling. Dean is careful to stay out of sight. He catches sight of the Impala, smashed up and rusted to hell.

“Oh, baby, no” Dean approaches the Impala for a better look at the damage, peering inside the driver's side door. “Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?” Dean hears something and has barely turned to look when he is knocked out by another Dean, this one 2014!Dean identified by the military-issue green jacket he is wearing instead of Dean's blue shirt.

 

 


	16. Chapter Fourteen

 

Dean wakes up and discovers he is handcuffed to a ladder. 2014!Dean is across the room cleaning a gun.

“What the hell?”

“I should be asking that question, don't you think? In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?”

“Because you'd only be hurting yourself”

“Very funny”

“Look, man—I'm no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?”

“Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water—nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?”

“Zachariah” 2014!Dean stands up.

“Come again?”

“I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future”

“Where is he? I want to talk to him”

“I don't know”

“Oh, you don't know?”

“No, I don't know. Look, I just want to get back to my own friggin' year, okay?”

“Okay. If you're me, then tell me something only I would know” Dean thinks, then smirks.

“Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it”

“Touché. So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?”

“I guess. Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?”

“It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that”

“What about Sam?” 2014!Dean goes still.

“Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it”

“You weren't with him?”

“No. No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in—hell, five years”

“We never tried to find him?”

“We had other people to worry about” 2014!Dean starts to head for the door, intending on leaving the room.

“Where you going?”

“I got to run an errand”

“Whoa. You're just gonna leave me here?”

“Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their heads. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap. So, yeah, you stay locked down”

“Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?”

“No. Absolutely not” 2014!Dean leaves.

“Dick” Dean pries a nail out of the floorboards and uses it to remove the handcuffs.

…………………..

Dean glances around the camp and then notices Chuck who approaches him.

“Hey, Dean. You got a second?”

“No—yes. Uh, I—I guess. Hi, Chuck”

“Hi. So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and—and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?”

“I—I don't know. Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz”

“Wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now?”

“Absolutely. And I will be”

“Uh-oh,” A woman comes up behind Dean and tries to slug him.

“Whoa! Jeez! Easy, lady!” Dean ducks and hides behind Chuck.

“Risa”

“Risa?”

“You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?” Risa accuses Dean.

“Uh, what? I—I don't—did I?” Chuck nods.

“I thought we had a 'connection'” Risa air-quotes the word.

“Well, I'm sure that we do”

“Yeah?”

“Hi, Risa”

“Screw you”

“Oh, jeez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet”

“What?”

“Uh, never mind. Hey, Chuck, is...Cas still here?”

“Yeah. I don't think Cas is going anywhere” Dean enters another cabin.

………………..

2014!Castiel is sitting in a circle with several women.

“So, in this way. We're each a fragment of total perception—just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind. Now, the key to this total, shared perception—it's, um, it's surprisingly physical” 2014!Castiel spots Dean. “Oh. Excuse me, ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?” The women leave. “You're all so beautiful” 2014!Castiel stands and stretches his back, grunting.

“What are you, a hippie?”

“I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me”

“Cas, we got to talk”

“Whoa. Strange”

“What?”

“You...are not you. Not now you, anyway”

“No! Yeah. Yes, exactly”

“What year are you from?”

“2009.”

“Who did this to you? Is it Zachariah?”

“Yes”

“Interesting”

“Oh, yeah, it's friggin' fascinating. Now. Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar?”

“I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but I'm sorry, no dice”

“What, are you stoned?”

“Uh, generally, yeah”

“What happened to you?”

“Life” Cas answers. 

……………………

A car and a jeep arrive. 2014!Dean and some soldiers climb out. 2014!Dean grabs two beers and tosses one to a soldier. They both open the beers and drink. 2014!Dean draws his gun and points it at that soldier.

“Hey. Hey! Watch out!” 2014!Dean shoots the soldier. The others look between the two Deans.

“Damn it” 2014!Dean addresses the soldiers. “I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and him—It's a pretty messed-up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do”

………………….

2014!Dean shoves 2009!Dean into the room and shuts the door behind them.

“What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was that? You just shot a guy in cold blood”

“We were in an open quarantine zone. Got ambushed by some Croats on the way out” Dean's expression asks for an explanation. “Croats. Croatoans. One of them infected Yeager”

“How do you know?”

“'Cause after a few years of this, I know. I started seeing symptoms about half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news”

“'Troubling a good man'? You just blew him away in front of your own people. Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?”

“It's 2014. Plugging some Croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my friggin' clone—that might have freaked them out a little”

“All right, look…”

“No, you look. This isn't your time. It's mine. You don't make the decisions. I do. So, when I say stay in, you stay in”

“All right, man. I'm sorry. Look, I—I'm not trying to mess you—me—us up here”

“I know” 2014!Dean pours two glasses of alcohol.

“It's just been a really wacky weekend”

“Tell me about it” They drink.

“What was the mission, anyway?” 2014!Dean pulls out a gun; it's the Colt. “The Colt?”

“The Colt”

“Where was it?”

“Everywhere. They've been moving it around. Took me five years, but...I finally got it. And tonight—tonight, I'm gonna kill the devil and his little witch bitch”

……………….

“So, that's it? That's the Colt?” Risa asks. 2014!Dean, 2009!Dean and 2014!Cas are stood in a room around the Colt.

“If anything can kill Lucifer and the witch, this is it”

“Great. Have we got anything that can find Lucifer..or Sappheire?” Risa asks, 2009!Dean looks up sharply.

“Are you okay?” 2014!Dean asks Risa.

“Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night. And, apparently, we and...Risa have a connection” 2009!Dean answers shooting 2014!Dean a look.

“You want to shut up?” 2009!Dean raises his hands in surrender. “We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where they are. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew”

“So, a demon tells you where Satan and his wife's gonna be, and you just believe it?”

“Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying”

“And you know this how?”

“Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well-schooled in the art of getting to the truth” Cas states.

“Torture? Oh, so, we're—we're torturing again” 2014!Dean looks at Dean. “No, that's—that's good. Classy” 2014!Castiel laughs. 2014!Dean looks at him.

“What? I like past you”

“They are here. Now. I know the block and I know the building” 2014!Dean points to a map.

“Oh, good—it's right in the middle of a hot zone”

“Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?”

“Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil and his witch, who by the way will hear and smell us coming a mile away?”

“Yes”

“Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe”

“Are you coming?” 2014!Castiel sighs.

“Of course. But why is he? I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?”

“He's coming”

“Okay. Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving”

“We're loaded and on the road by midnight”

“All righty” 2014!Castiel and Risa leave.

“Why are you taking me?” 2009!Dean asks other Dean.

“Relax. You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you, right?”

“No, that's not what I mean. I want to know what's going on”

“Yeah, okay. You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother”

“Sam? I thought he was dead”

“Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'”

“'Yes'?” A long silence. “Wait. You mean…”

“That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom”

“Why would he do that?”

“Wish I knew. But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different”

“What do you mean?”

“Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To oh-nine?”

“Yeah”

“Well, when you get back home—you say 'yes'. You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael”

“That's crazy. If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet”

“Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat”

“So why don't you?”

“I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up! It's too late for me, but for you…”

“Oh, no. There's got to be another way”

“Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes” A pause. “And kill her” 2014!Dean states, 2009!Dean raises an eyebrow “Kill Sappheire…” 2014!Dean sighs. “But you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?” 

 

 


	17. Chapter Fifteen

Chuck looks to 2009!Dean as they stand watching the others get ready for their mission to kill the devil.

“So, you're really from oh-nine?”

“Yeah, afraid so”

“Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. 'Cause it is”

“Thank you, Chuck”

“Oh, you'll thank me, all right. Mark my words”

“I'll see you around”

“Yeah. Okay” Dean gets in one of the vehicles. They drive off.

……………….

Dean is riding shotgun in 2014!Castiel's car. 2014!Castiel takes some pills.

“Let me see those”

“You want some?”

“Amphetamines?”

“It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe”

“Mmm. Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but—what's going on—w-with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?” 2014!Castiel laughs. “What's so funny?”

“Dean, I'm not an angel anymore”

“What?”

“Yeah, I went mortal”

“What do you mean? How?”

“I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of— psshhew!—drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months”

“Wow”

“Yeah”

“So, you're human. Well, welcome to the club”

“Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then that's, that's just how I roll”

……………………

Dean, 2014!Dean, 2014!Castiel, Risa, and other soldiers walk, carrying guns and scanning the area.

……………………

The four of them look up at the multi-story building ahead of them.

“There. Second-floor window. We go in there” 2014!Dean states.

“You sure about this?” Risa asks.

“They'll never see us coming. Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five”

“Hey, uh, me. Can I talk to you for a sec?” 2014!Dean goes to the side with Dean. “Tell me what's going on”

“What?”

“I know you. You're lying to these people and to me”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror. Now, there's something you're not telling us”

“I don't know what you're talking about”

“Oh, really? Well, I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions, so, uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them”

“Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait”

“What?”

“Take a look around you, man. This place should be white-hot with Croats. Where are they?”

“They cleared a path for us. Which means that this is….”

“A trap. Exactly. Sappheire knows we’re here”

“Well, then we can't go through the front”

“Oh, we're not. They are. They're the decoys. You and me, we're going in through the back”

“You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?” 2014!Dean looks away. “Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends”

“You're right. You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually.”

“These people count on you. They trust you”

“They trust me to kill the devil, the witch and to save the world and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.”

“No. Not like this, you're not. I'm not gonna let you”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” 2014!Dean slugs Dean knocking him out.

……………………….

Dean wakes up on the ground. He hears gunfire in the building and runs toward it. Thunder crashes, lightning flashes, and Dean sees 2014!Dean on the ground, neck held down by someone wearing a white shoe. 2014!Dean opens his eyes and sees Dean. The someone shifts his weight; 2014!Dean's neck audibly breaks. The someone, Dean sees, is Sam but not; it must be Lucifer. He turns around and sees Dean.

“Oh. Hello, Dean” Sappheire shifts behind Lucifer, her eyes a swirling mix of red and yellow, her hair a shocking shade of red. Dean stares at Lucifer. “Aren't you a surprise” Thunder and lightning; Lucifer is now behind Dean. “You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?”

“Well, go ahead. Kill me”

“Kill you?” Lucifer looks at the corpse of 2014!Dean. “Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?” Lucifer sighs. “I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be” Lucifer reaches for Dean's shoulder. Dean moves back. “You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do?”

“I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?” Lucifer examines a rose, but turns away, walking to Sappheire, she looks up at him as he slides the rose behind her ear.

“Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God” Dean doesn't answer. “You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?”

“Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile”

“You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created...” Lucifer smirks. “You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it”

“You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are”

“What am I?”

“You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego” Lucifer smiles.

“I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon” Lucifer takes Sappheire’s hand and turns to walk away.

“You better kill me now!” Lucifer turns back.

“Pardon?”

“You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop”

“I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win”

“You're wrong”

“See you in five years, Dean” Thunder and lightning; Lucifer and Sappheire are gone. Dean turns around and sees Zachariah behind him, reaching for his forehead with two fingers.

………………….

Dean leans against the kitchenette sink. Zachariah stands in front of him.

“Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you”

“Enough. Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes”

“How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks? Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?”

“The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam and takes his Bride. Before billions die” Dean considers this for a long moment, turning away from Zachariah.

“Nah”

“'Nah'? You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?”

“Oh, I've learned a lesson, all right. Just not the one you wanted to teach”

“Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you…” Dean is gone. “Son of a...”

……………………

Dean turns around and sees Castiel.

“That's pretty nice timing, Cas”

“We had an appointment” Dean puts a hand on Castiel's shoulder.

“Don't ever change”

“How did Zachariah find you?”

“Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?” Dean pulls out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Something I should have done in the first place”

……………………

Dean waits by the Impala. Another car pulls up. Sam and Sappheire get out. Dean and Sam approach each other.

“Sam” Dean pulls out Ruby's knife. Sam looks at it nervously. Dean holds it out to Sam, handle first. “If you're serious and you want back in...you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty” Sam takes the knife. He can't meet Dean's eyes. “Look, man, I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh—wrong”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Long story. The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human”

“Thank you. Really. Thank you. I won't let you down”

“Oh, I know it. I mean, you are the second-best hunter on the planet” Sam nods and looks back at Sappheire who leans against the car with her head down.

“What about her?”

“We can’t let Lucifer get a hold of her” Dean tells Sam. “We keep her with us….and out of his hands”

“She saved my life,” Sam tells him, Dean looks to him. “It’s a long story but…I probably wouldn’t be stood here if she…”

“Then…we owe her…” Sam nods.

“So, what do we do now?”

“We make our own future”

“Guess we have no choice” Dean walks towards Sappheire who glances at him and then stands up straight. “Sappheire right?” she nods and looks to him.

“Dean Winchester” she greets.

“Guess the three of us are in this together now” she offers a small smile. 

 


	18. Chapter Sixteen

The Impala drives along an empty road. Sam, Dean, and Sappheire are gathered within the vehicle, Sam looks over a pile of papers from their 'hunt', Sappheire sleeps in the back.

“So…” Sam chuckles. “What's with this job?”

“Dude suffers a head-on collision in a parked car? I'd say that's worth checking out” Dean answers.

“Yeah, definitely, uh, but, uh, we got bigger problems, don't you think?” Sam looks to the back seat, where Sappheire sleeps, curled up.

“I'm sure the apocalypse'll still be there when we get back” A pause.

“Right, yeah, but I mean, if—if the Colt is really out there somewhere…”

“Hey, we've been looking for three weeks, we got bupkis….even Sabrina couldn’t track it” he thumbs back at Sappheire.

“Okay. But Dean...I mean, if we're gonna…ice the Devil…”

“This is what we're doing! Okay? End of discussion” Sam looks away and sighs. A long pause. “It's just that this is our first real case, back at it together….and it’s the first case with….the witch tagging along. You know, I, I think we oughta ease into it, put the training wheels back on”

“So you think I need training wheels”

“No, 'we'. 'We' need training wheels, you and me…..and her. As a team. Okay?” Sam nods.

“Okay”

“Man, I really want this to be a fresh start, you know? For the both of us” They look at each other, then Sam nods again.

“Okay” they both fall silent, which is broken by Sappheire screaming and bolting upright.

“Holy crap!!” Dean complains losing control of the car before getting it back, Sam looks back at Sappheire. “Every time” Dean complains.

“Saffy!” he grabs her arm and she snaps her head around to him, her eyes glowing red. “It’s okay….you’re in the Impala…with me and Dean” she pants and looks between them both, Dean glancing at her. The glow of her eyes dims and returns to normal. She slumps back in the seat.

“What was it this time?” Dean asks.

“Oh, the usual” she answers. “Just the Devil….and his insistent flirting…and promises” she looks out the window.

“What does he promise?” Sam asks.

“My little brother” she whispers. “He promises to find him and return him to me....”

“What happened?” Dean asks.

“That’s a long story” she pulls her knees up onto the seat and leans her head against the window. “Can we pull over somewhere?” she asks. “I’m a little hungry” Dean nods.

“Me too actually” he agrees.

“You’re always hungry” Sam points out. Dean smirks across at his brother.

……………………

Dean, Sam, and Sappheire climb out of the Impala at a gas station.

“Not exactly what I meant,” she tells them.

“It’s the first and last place before we hit town….” Dean stretches. Sappheire looks around spots an older woman heading towards the lady's bathroom.

“I have to pee” she states before walking away. Dean shoots Sam a look.

“Tell me you don’t find her weird” Dean asks as they both head to the store.

“She’s…quirky” Sam offers with a smile. “Look…I like her”

“Yeah, cause you get your nerd on together” Dean teases. “I’ve seen you two, up late, nerding out over books”

“She’s got an eclectic collection”

“Yeah, I know…they’re in my trunk and everywhere I shove my hand in the car”

…………………….

Sappheire holds her blood bottle up to the older woman’s wrist as she bleeds, she’s been putting off feeding around the brother’s, finding little excuses here and there, to be alone. She presses her finger to the cut and drinks from the bottle before setting it back against the woman's arm and licking her lips. Someone knocks on the outside of the restroom and she pauses.

“Sabrina” Dean shouts. “Hurry your ass up”

“Just a sec” she shouts back, licks the woman’s wrist, which heals as she goes. She turns to the woman. “Forget” she compels and then stands tucking the bottle into her bag before leaving.

……………………..

Dean hands her a carry bag as she reaches him.

“I guessed,” he tells her as Sam walks towards them.

“Here” he holds up a book and smirks, Sappheire doesn’t look as impressed, Dean chuckles. 

“Harry Potter?? Seriously?” she snatches the book from him as the brothers laugh. “I hate you both” she grumbles.

“Aww…come on, Hermione” Dean teases as she climbs into the car. She leans out the window.

“Hey, I’m more a Luna!” Dean gasps and points at her, she sticks out her tongue and leans back into the car. The brothers climb in still laughing.

………………………

Dean sets Sappheire’s books on the table in their motel room. Sam pulls on his FBI jacket as Sappheire sits at the window, she pushes the net aside to looks outside.

“Hey” Dean catches her attention. “You know the drill”

“Yeah…salt line,” she tells him. “Boundary spell…I know”

“It’s to keep your boyfriend away” Dean teases, Sappheire rolls her eyes but smiles.

“Not like it stops him from getting into my head….no matter what protection spell I cast…”

“You’ve tried?” Sam asks, she looks to him.

“Every night…none of them keep him out”

“As long as we’re around, he’s not getting you,” Dean tells her, she looks to him. “Okay?” she nods.

“We won’t be long,” Sam tells her, they start to leave.

“Hey” she leans on the table, they look to her. “If there’s a juicy body, can I see?”

“No” they answer together, she blows a raspberry as they leave.

………………………..

Dean and Sam, wearing suits, show their FBI badges to the Sheriff.

“Agents Bonham and Copeland” The Sheriff shakes their hands.

“Rick Carnegie. Good to know ya. So you're here on account of Cal Hawkins' death?”

“That's right”

“Well, 'fraid you came a long way for nothing. We already booked the guy that did it” Sam and Dean frown at each other.

“I'm sorry; who do you think did it?” Sam asks.

…………….

Sam, Dean, and Carnegie are sitting at a table, watching the video that Jim recorded.

“Cal? Is something wrong?” Jim states on the video, it shows Cal's head smashed into the windshield. “Oh my God, Cal. Cal!” The video cuts to static and Carnegie shakes his head, then switches off the TV. He drops the remote on the table and turns to Dean and Sam.

“Sicko taped his own handiwork” Dean and Sam look confused.

“I don't follow”

“It was Jim Grossman that killed Cal”

“Wait, what?”

“Well, he was the only one on the scene for miles”

“They were best friends”

“Most violent crimes are committed by someone close to the victim”

“And how exactly did Jim slam Cal into a windshield with all the force of an eighty-mile-per-hour crash?” Dean asks. Carnegie blinks.

“Drugs, maybe?” Dean raises his eyebrows. “Look, you know this ain't brain surgery, boys! Whatever it looks like, that's what it usually is. It's simple”

“Simple. Right” Dean glances over his shoulder at Sam.

“Right. Um, if you don't mind, we'd like to speak to Jim Grossman anyway”

………………….

Sam is sitting at a table across from Jim, and Dean stands behind Sam.

“I was in the house when it happened, I didn't even see it”

“For argument's sake, say we believe you”

“Why would you? The cops didn't”

“Well we're not your typical cops”

“Please, just tell us what you saw”

“It's not what I saw, it's what I heard. Tires squealing, glass breaking” Jim sighs. “It was the car that did it” Dean and Sam both raise their eyebrows.

“The car?”

“I mean, I heard about the curse, but, I just thought it was a load of crap”

“Curse, what do you—what do you mean, curse?”

“The car. Little Bastard”

“Li—Little Bastard? As in the Little Bastard?”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, uh, what's Little Bastard?”

“It's James Dean's car. It's the one he was killed in”

“Yeah, that's the one. Cal had been looking for it for years. I mean, hell, we both had. But he found it first” Dean leans closer to Sam.

“Oh, we are definitely getting Sabrina to check this out”

……………………

Dean walks around and inspects Little Bastard with awe, careful not to touch. The windshield is bloodstained and has a piece missing where Cal’s head was.

“So, what, this is, like, Christine?” Sappheire asks stood next to Sam. Dean shakes his head.

“Christine is fiction. This…This is real”

“Okay”

“Enlighten us” Sam adds.

“Well after James Dean died, his mechanic bought the wreckage, and he fixed it up. And it repaid him by falling on him. And Tony McHenry was killed when it locked up on the racetrack. I mean, death follows this car around like exhaust. Nobody touches it and comes away in one piece”

“Sounds like my exes” Sappheire states with a smirk, she chuckles to herself. Dean looks to her.

“Really?” he asks.

“Couldn’t resist” 

“Hm”

“Then, in nineteen-seventy, it vanished off the back of a truck. Nobody's ever seen it since. I'm telling you, man, if this—if this car is Little Bastard, I will bet you dollars to donuts it's what killed the guy”

“So how do we find out? Why am I here?” Sappheire asks.

“Do your witchy thing on it…” Dean tells her. She shoots him a look.

“Why don’t you just check the engine number?” she asks. Dean looks to her. “You didn’t think of that, did you?” Sam chuckles.

“Maybe” Dean mumbles. Sappheire smirks and moves around to the front of the car, she cocks her head and then grabs the bottom of her dress, lifts it over her head. “What are you doing?” Dean hisses looking around.

“It’s a nice dress” she throws it at him. “I don’t want to get engine oil on it” Sam clears his throat and looks away. Dean doesn’t. “Either of you got a pencil and paper?” Dean grabs his notepad and pencil from his pocket and holds it out to her, she takes them and then lies down on a roller board with the pencil in her mouth, then rolls herself under the car so her eyes are level with a number printed on the engine. She reads the number when the car shudders and Dean panics, looking around. Sam appears on the ground next to the car.

“Need a flashlight?” Sappheire looks to him. 

“No” Dean pulls Sam back.

“Don't...do anything” Dean warns.

“Is there anyone around?” Sappheire asks. Dean looks around.

“No, why?” her red mist wraps around the car and Dean and Sam step back, Dean frowns at the mist. Sappheire holds a piece of paper up to the engine's number, then takes a rubbing of the number on the piece of paper with the pencil. She slides out from under the car, then stands up. Dean hands her dress back and she pulls it on. Dean looks to her.

“Find out who owned it. Not just the last owner, you gotta take it all the way back to nineteen-fifty-five”

“That's a lot of research” Sam points out.

“Well, I guess I just made your afternoon…..you two can nerd out” Sam stares. Dean sighs and walks away.

……………….

Dean sits at the bar, talking to a bartender.

“So, you wanna be an actress, huh?”

“Yeah”

“That is—that is so funny, because, I am actually…” Dean takes out a business card. “—an agent for William Morris Endeavor” She takes the card.

“Wow,” Dean chuckles as his cell phone rings. He indicates his empty beer glass. “You mind filling me up again?”

“Yeah”

“Thanks, hey, you're a star. All right?” She giggles, takes the glass and walks away as Dean answers the call.

…………………

Sappheire sits on the floor surrounded by books and papers, Sam sits on the bed in front of his laptop, Sam’s cellphone set beside him.

“Yo” Dean picks up.

“Hey. Took me a while, but I traced all the car's previous owners” 

“Any of 'em die bloody?”

“Nope. In fact…” Someone near Dean breaks a triangle of pool balls. Sam hears this. “Dean, are you in a bar?”

“No, I—I'm—I'm in a restaurant” The bartender returns and places Dean's beer on the bar.

“Here's your beer” The bartender grins.

“Thanks” He takes the beer as the bartender walks away and Sam shakes his head as Sappheire smirks. “That happens to have a bar”

“We’ve been working our asses off here”

“Hey, world's smallest violin, pal, I needed a drink…”

“Anyway...The car's first owner was a cardiologist in Philadelphia; drove it 'til he died in nineteen-seventy-two”

“So you're saying?”

“That Porsche is not, nor has it ever been, James Dean's car” Sam explains.

“It's a fake Little Bastard” Sappheire adds.

“Well, then what was it that killed the guy?”

“Good question”

…………………….

Dean returns to the motel later, Sappheire is already asleep on the couch, curled up, her marked hand hanging over the edge touching the weird locked box she hauls around.

“Witches” Dean grumbles looking to Sam who works on his laptop. “What are you still doing up?”

“It’s pretty hard to sleep when the devil is in your head…” Sam answers. Dean nods to Sappheire.

“She seems to be doing alright”

“She knocked herself out with a sleeping spell” Sam answers.

“Why didn’t you take it too?”

“Because she said that there is a risk, with me being human, that I wouldn’t wake up”

“Good call on not taking it then” Dean adds heading for the bathroom. “Let’s hope she sleeps through it tonight” he grumbles shutting the door behind him. Sam rolls his eyes and closes his laptop before setting it aside and looking to Sappheire and then climbing into bed. Dean leaves the bathroom minutes later and moves to the other bed, he pauses and looks to Sappheire, he sighs and moves to her. “Alright, witchy”

“Dean” Sam complains looking to him. “What are you doing?”

“We both know how uncomfortable these couches are….she may be a witch…but….she’s still a young girl” he lifts her up.

“No..” she whimpers squirming in his arms.

“Jeez..relax, Sabrina…I’m just moving you somewhere more comfortable” he carries her towards the other bed as Sam rolls his eyes and turns away from them.

“Silas” she whimpers, Dean raises an eyebrow and shakes his head moving around to the other side of the bed and climbs in.

 


	19. Chapter Seventeen

Sam touches Sappheire’s shoulder as she sleeps. Dean watches from where he pulls on his FBI jacket.

“Zafira” Sam nudges her.

“Why do you call her that?” Dean asks. “Zafira?”

“She said I could” Dean makes a face. “You’re just jealous she likes me more” Dean scoffs and kicks the bed Sappheire’s on, she jolts awake and Sam shoots Dean a look.

“Expelliarmus” she mumbles, Dean smirks.

“Was she reading Harry Potter before bed?” Dean asks. Sappheire rubs her head.

“I think it’s more alarming you know what she meant” Sam points out turning to Sappheire. “Hey, there was another body, we’re heading out to the crime scene….”

“Can I come?” she asks. Sam looks to Dean who shakes his head. “Look, I can sense things….I could help….don’t make me stay cooped up in here all day again, I’ll go mad” Dean sighs as Sam turns on his puppy dog eyes.

“Fine…but if you throw up that’s on you” Dean states, she smiles and jumps up.

“Thank you”

“Hurry up,” he tells her as she grabs her bag and heads into the bathroom.

……………….

A police forensic squad is investigating and photographing the scene. Carnegie is giving orders as Dean and Sam enter with Sappheire.

“I want you to use a fine-tooth comb. The evidence is here, we just gotta find it”

“Heard you got another weird one,” Dean tells Carnegie.

“Uh, well, it's a—it's a little strange on the surface, I admit, but, uh...you know, once you—you look at the facts...” he looks to Sappheire.

“Oh, she’s a consultant” Dean offers in way of an explanation. Sappheire and Sam shoot Dean a look.

“William Hill died from a gunshot wound to the head. No gun, no gunpowder, no bullet” Sam points out. Sappheire shrugs.

“Nope. Nothing strange about that” she states.

“Well, there's gotta be a reasonable explanation. There always is”

“Well, what's your reasonable explanation?” Carnegie looks around cautiously for a moment and whispers.

“Professional killer”

“Come again?”

“Well, CIA, NSA, one o' them trained assassins, like in Michael Clayton” Sappheire, Sam and Dean all but gape at Carnegie.

“Right” Dean looks at Sam.

“You're welcome to look around, but—but these guys don't leave fingerprints”

“Mind if we talk with the witness?” Sappheire asks, Dean and Sam look to her. 

“Be my guest. She's not making any sense! And she's not making any sense in Spanish either” Dean nods slowly.

“Right”

………………

Consuela is sitting on a wooden bench, wrapped in a blanket, talking to a Police officer and sobbing. Sappheire, Dean, and Sam come outside and walk over to her.

“No puedo vivir aquí. Necesito mi familia. Me voy ahora. Me voy a la casa. No—me voy a la casa en El Salvador ahora”

“Consuela Alvarez?”

“Yes?”

“FBI” Dean and Sam both show their badges. The Police officer leaves. “Now, uh, you said you saw something in the professor's house. Right? Something in the window?”

“Estaba sacando la basura. Imiré por la ventana y vi al hombre que mató al Señor Hill!” Sappheire kneels in front of her.

“Señora Alvarez. Cálmese, por favour. Díganos lo que vio?” Dean grins.

“Nice” Sappheire looks to him. “What?”

“Era alto. Muy alto. Y llevaba el abrigo negro largo y tenía bigotes”

“Okay, a tall man, very tall. With a long black coat and a beard” Sappheire translates for her. 

“Y un sombrero”

“Dude was wearing a sombrero?” Dean asks.

“A hat” Sappheire corrects.

“Sombrero alto”

“A tall hat?”

“Oh, like a top hat” Dean comments. 

“Un sombrero alto” Consuela gestures above her head. “Muy alto!”

“What, you mean like a—like a stovepipe hat” Dean imitates her gesture.

“Sí”

“Oh yeah, like Abraham Lincoln” Sam shrugs. Consuela starts sobbing again.

“Sí. El Presidente Lincoln” Sam and Dean trade confused looks. “Abraham Lincoln kill Mister Hill!” She cries again.

“Huh”

“S-so I go home now?”

“Sí. Gracias” Sappheire stands.

“Gracias” Sam turns and frowns at Dean as Consuela walks away.

…………..

Sam and Dean sit at the table, Sam on his laptop and Dean on a new laptop. Sam brings up a webpage. Dean is rewatching the video of Cal’s death. Sappheire walks past him as she grabs another book and looks over his shoulder, and frowns. She taps his shoulder and leans over him, Dean looks to her, and maybe….sniffs. He always assumes witches would smell…like bodily fluids…and death but Sappheire, she smells like the woods and lightning. Sam watches Dean over his own laptop as Sappheire pauses the video and backs up a few frames until a figure in a red jacket appears reflected in the chrome of a car wheel.

“Hey” she catches both their attention, Dean pulls his eyes and head away from the witch. Reminding himself that this girl is supposed to destroy the entire human race.

“What?” he grunts, Sappheire goes back and forth between adjacent frames; the figure is present in one but not the other. Dean leans closer. “What is that?” He picks up the laptop and turns it around so Sam can see.

“It's a freeze-frame from Jim Grossman's video” Sam looks at it. Sappheire looks to Sam.

“Am I crazy, or does that look like James Dean?” she asks.

“That looks like James Dean” Dean sets the laptop back in front of himself and Sappheire.

“So we got Abraham Lincoln, and James Dean?” Sam frowns.

“Famous ghosts?” Sappheire asks. “Is that a thing?”

“Maybe”

“Well that's just silly”

“No, actually, uh, there is a ton of lore on famous ghosts. More than the, you know, not-famous kinds. I'm actually surprised we haven't run into one before”

“Yeah, but now we got two of 'em? Two extremely pissed-off ghosts?”

“Who are apparently ganking their fans”

“What do you mean?” Sam reads off the webpage.

“Professor Hill was a Civil War nut. He dug Lincoln”

“And Cal must've been a James Dean freak. He spent seventeen years of his life tracking down the guy's car” Sam raises his eyebrows knowingly.

“So you're saying you’ve got two super-famous, super-pissed-off ghosts killing their...super-fans?” Sappheire asks standing up. Sam shrugs.

“That's what it looks like”

“Well, that is muchos loco” Sappheire smirks and looks to Dean. 

“'Muy'.” Dean looks up. “Not 'muchos'”

“Yeah, well, the big question is, what the hell are they doing here?”

“Yeah. Ghosts usually haunt the places they live. I mean, I, I get Abraham Lincoln at the White House…”

“And James Dean at a race track, but...what the hell are they doing in Canton?”

………………..

Sam is still working on his laptop while Dean stands by the sink, drinking a can of soda. Sappheire is reading on the couch. Sam stops typing and frowns.

“You gotta be kidding me”

“What?” Sappheire and Dean walk over and reads the screen.

“You gotta be kidding me” Sappheire snorts.

…………………

Dean pulls on his jacket and looks to Sappheire.

“You coming?” he asks.

“Nope,” she looks over her shoulder at him. “Wax people give me the creeps”

“Seriously? Wax people is what does it for you?” he teases.

“I mean…it’s not flying or anything” Dean looks alarmed as she smirks, Dean looks to Sam.

“You tell her I’m afraid of flying?” Sam holds up his hands.

“No, swear”

“I’m just that good” Sappheire teases, Dean scoffs and leaves, she sighs and shakes her head.

“He’s just iffy with witches,” Sam tells her.

“Yeah, well….it’s giving me whiplash,” she tells him and sighs. “Go check out the museum” she waves to the door. 

“We won’t be long” she nods as he leaves.

 


End file.
